Health and Wellness Archives - Page 2 of 3

Ways to Relax

Let’s face it, life is busy. Sometimes it catches up with us, leaving us feeling stressed and overwhelmed. When this happens, you need a way to fight back.

Fortunately, even just a few minutes can be enough to help you recharge. Here are 26 ways to relax.

Breathe
Take 5 deep breathes, give it your full attention, notice the pause but in and out.
Write
Journaling about your feelings can help relieve them.
Be grateful
Write a list of what you’re grateful for—nothing is too small.
Make a plan
Knowing what you need to do today (and what you don’t) can help relieve the stress.
Play
Adults can sometimes forget how to play, but anything that is purposeless and pleasurable and help us unwind.

Use visualization
Whether you’re really standing at the ocean or just imagining it, your brain responds the same way.

Talk to someone
One of your best tools for coping with stress are social connections.
Go green
Immersing yourself in nature can help you unwind. Go for a walk along the river or find a good bench under a tree.
Sleep on it
It may feel counterintuitive, but take 20 minutes and catch some zzz’s. It can refresh your mind, while the brief time frame keeps you from getting groggy.
Change the tunes
Listening to upbeat or calming music can quickly shirt your mood.
Meditate
Even a few minutes can ease anxiety, especially when practiced daily.
Be present
Stop your thoughts and take a minute to be present in your body to be aware of it.
Warm up
Place a warm compress over your neck and shoulders for 10 minutes, lean back, and close your eyes to relax those tense muscles in your face, neck, and back.
Laugh out loud
Reduce your levels of stress hormone cortisol and increase feel-good endorphins with a good laugh.
Stare at the ceiling
Tilting your head up lowers blood pressure and slows your breath. Count down slowly from 60 while doing this to help still your mind.
Set your worries aside
Write down all of the things that are causing you stress, then put them aside to deal with tomorrow.
Sip green tea
Green tea has L-Theanine in it, which helps relieve anger.
Go dark
With some dark chocolate. A single square (1.4 oz) can regulate your cortisol levels.
Chew gum
The repetitive and thoughtless nature of chewing gum can reduce anxiety within just a few minutes.
Count down
This simple action demands enough attention to stifle the sources of your stress.
DIY a hand massage
Hands carry a lot of tension, so stop wringing your hands and massage them instead.
Grab a golf ball
But forget the irons. Instead, roll it against the bottom of your feet to release tension.
Squeeze it out
On a stress ball. They didn’t become a common desk tchotchke by accident.
Get some sun
Take a quick walk outside and soak up some rays to lift your spirits.
Practice yoga
The smooth deliberate motion of yoga is great for calming and re-centering.

Cuddle with a pet
A good snuggle with a furry friend is a proven way to de-stress.

Nausea: When To Seek Medical Advice

Nausea is very common symptom that is associated with a wide range of health conditions, referring to the physical discomfort that gives a person the feeling that they may be about to vomit.

Often the cause of vomiting or nausea can be determined fairly easily by looking back at a person’s recent actions (such as a particularly stressful day, or that gas station sushi s/he ate for lunch). But there are times when nausea and vomiting are very serious.

Knowing how to recognize when it’s time to see doctor can be the difference between a quick recovery and a life-threatening situation.

What’s serious enough to warrant a doctor or ER visit depends on age and condition. Here is a breakdown of what warning signs to look for by group:

Children
When a child is nauseous, the most common causes are overeating, motion sickness, blocked intestines, milk allergy, viral infections, food poisoning, or illness with a high fever. Another common cause is dehydration, particularly for those too young to communicate the symptoms.

If a child is nauseous and vomiting, look for these signs that s/he needs to seek emergency treatment:

Vomiting lasts longer than 24 hours, or longer than 12 hours for infants under 2
S/he shows symptoms of dehydration (dry lips, drymouth, sunken eyes, rapid breathing or rapid pulse)
S/he hasn’t urinated for longer than six hours
S/he is confused or lethargic
S/he has a fever of 102°F or higher for children 6 or older (100°F for infants)
Any infant with both vomiting and diarrhea
Any time an infant has projectile vomiting
If a child has vomited continuously for more than two hours
S/he hasn’t been able to keep liquids down for eight hours

Adults
When an adult feels nauseous, it’s usually easy to determine the cause—motion sickness, food poisoning, a virus, or emotional stress are common triggers.

Most of these causes are not serious, and pass within a matter of hours. But there are times when it is important to seek emergency treatment. On occasion, extensive vomiting can serious damage the esophagus.

An adult should seek medical treatment if:

S/he suffers from nausea for more than seven days
S/he shows signs of dehydration
She suspects she could be pregnant
If there is a known injury such as a head injury or infection
If vomiting continues for more than 24 hours
Blood is in the vomit (red or something appearing like coffee grounds)
If the person experiences a stiff neck or headache
S/he is lethargic, confused or lacking alertness
S/he has abdominal pain
S/he is unable to eat or drink for 12 hours

Pregnant women
Nausea is common during pregnancy, especially early on. However, frequent vomiting can lead to hyperemesis gravidarum, a condition in which a fluid and mineral imbalance develops. This is a serious medical condition that can endanger the fetus.

If this nausea is affecting a woman’s everyday life, it’s worth discussing with a doctor, but if an expecting mother experiences any of these, she should seek medical attention right away:

She vomits several times a day
She is unable to eat or drink without vomiting
She is losing weight

Cancer patients
For cancer patients undergoing radiation or chemotherapy, nausea is very common. Patients should be aware of associated risks including dehydration and choking, and always call your cancer team in the following situations:

The patient may have inhaled some of the vomit
S/he vomits more than three times an hour, for longer than three hours
Blood, red, or a coffee grounds-like substance appears in the vomit
S/he can’t eat for more than two days, or can’t consume more than 4 cups of liquid or ice chips for more than one day
The patient cannot take his/her medications
S/he shows signs of dehydration
S/he loses two pounds or more within 48 hours or less

Know the Signs and Risks

Most of the time, nausea is not a serious health threat, and it generally passes within a matter of hours. But nausea is a symptom for a wide range of conditions, from anxiety to a concussion.

While some of the most serious causes of nausea are rarer, there are some situations in which a nauseous and vomiting individual requires immediate medical care. Know the signs to keep you and your loved ones safe, and when in doubt, seek assistance.

Is Facebook Good For Your Health?

Is Facebook good for your health? It’s a big question, and as social media continues to become more and more prevalent, an important one.

According to a 2013 study by Facebook and IDC, smartphone users check Facebook as much as 14 times a day. Any time an action becomes habitual and compulsive like this, it starts to take on traits of addiction, affecting our daily lives.

So how is all this posting and profiling affecting us?

A lot of research has been dedicated to exploring this question—and the results are conflicting. Depending on the study or article you pick up you could find two disparate answers to this question: yes and no.

Hazards of posting

A number of studies have shown that the amount of time we invest in Facebook and other social media can take a toll on our psyches and detract from our overall happiness.

A study published by the American Academy of Pediatrics used the term “Facebook depression” to refer to a condition found to occur in tweens and teens who spent too much time online. The condition was correlated with increased substance abuse, unsafe sexual practices, and aggressive or self-destructive behaviors in the study subjects.

However, correlation is not causation, so Facebook’s role in triggering the condition has yet to be proven. Furthermore, the article cited a second study that indicated youths with quality friendships weren’t subject to “Facebook depression,” indicating that the quality of a teen’s social connections are a significant factor.

Another study by Israeli researchers found that the more time adolescent girls spent on online, the more likely they were to develop an eating disorder.

Other studies focused on adults have come to similar conclusions.

For example, Facebook has been found to factor into the divorce rate, and posts are even used by lawyers as evidence during divorce proceedings.

Studies have found that Facebook can trigger marital dissatisfaction in multiple ways, from reigniting relationships from long in the past, to serving as a forum to air dirty laundry. The strain these behaviors place on a relationship can lead to divorce.

Spouses who check in on their partner’s page may invite jealousy if they see something they don’t like, and that can lead to conflict. In “Facebook and your Marriage,” it’s recommend spouses discuss what’s fair game for posting and what’s not.

But Facebook’s impact on our quality of life stretched beyond the status of our marriages. It can also influence our overall life satisfaction.

A study from University of Michigan and Leuven University checked in with people five times a day asking about their mood and social interactions, both online and off. The results aren’t good for social media—the more times a person had checked Facebook since their last questionnaire, the worse their mood was on the next one.

Perhaps that’s because, as a joint survey from Germany’s Humboldt-Universität and TU Darmstadt showed, the most common feeling associated with Facebook browsing is envy.

As we browse more and more of what look like perfect lives flow through our feeds, it can cause us to develop a skewed perspective of our own lives. This leads to anxiety, discontent, and in some cases depression or eating disorders.

In short, Facebook can exacerbate our insecurities, push them further, and isolate us in our time of need.

But there’s a silver lining

Despite these negative findings, it may not be time to swear off social media quite yet. The detrimental effects of Facebook are real, but they’re not necessarily the full story.

A study from Cornell University showed that when a person updates their Facebook profile, they get a boost of self-esteem associated with being proactive about the image they project to the world.

Contrary to findings that social media isolates individuals with depression, another study from Michigan State University indicated that people with low self-esteem and happiness levels felt more connected to friends and their community when they logged onto Facebook more frequently. Another study from Lancaster University showed that high use of Facebook helps cement friendships among 21- to 29-year-olds.

Another study by Pew Research Center showed that people who use Facebook frequently score higher on test measuring companionship and emotional support.

So what’s the real answer?

Which studies are giving us the real story? It may simply come down to how we choose to use Facebook, rather than inherent qualities of the network itself.

The Humboldt-Universität and TU Darmstadt study showed that how a person engages on Facebook may be at least as important as how frequently they use it. In the study, those who used Facebook primarily to browse were more likely to experience negative effects than those who used it to communicate.

To protect your well-being while using Facebook and other social media, try to use it mindfully by managing your emotions and actions when you log in. focus on connecting with friends and loved ones, and avoid behaviors that lead to negative emotions like stalking old flames, comparing your life to the appearance of others’, and inundating yourself with media images flaunting impossible beauty standards.

In short, remember why you log in to Facebook in the first place. Pay attention to how it makes you feel, and don’t be afraid to take a break or change how you use it.

Does An Apple A Day Really Keep The Doctor Away?

Just as the age-old adage promises, it seems an apple a day really can keep the doctor away.

Apples (along with other fruits and veggies) pack a combination of vitamins and minerals that out-power supplements like artificially made vitamin capsules. These nutrients are critical for our bodies’ health—not only do they keep our immune system strong to fight off germs, but they also reduce our risk for heart disease and cancer.

Doctors believe the reason fruits and vegetables are so much better for our bodies than the bottled stuff is because supplements delve out nutrient one at a time, but the combination of many different nutrients found in natural sources like apples offers added benefits.

So while no amount of apple-eating can guarantee you’ll stay clear of the doctor’s office completely, it’s a great place to start.

The Importance of Doctor’s Check-Ups

Most of us find plenty of reasons to drag our feet when it comes time to get a medical check-up.

After all, if you’re feeling fine, why bother? You’re a busy individual, with plenty on your plate already at work and at home. Maybe the idea of finding something wrong even makes you uncomfortable, which causes you to push off even thinking about it.

Benefits of the Check-Up

While it’s easy to find reasons to push off a check-up, your health is no place to slack off. Studies have shown that being proactive about your health can really pay off. In the long run, you may be buying yourself more time, both in healthy active hours (versus those spent in bed sick or being treated in a hospital), and also in overall life longevity.

On the off chance there is something wrong, catching it early can be life-saving. But even if no health issues are found, a checkup still offers a few important health benefits.

To start, you get the ease of mind of knowing for sure that you have a clean bill of health. You also get important baseline on your health metrics in these appointments, including your weight, height, blood pressure and more, which establishes a record of what is normal for your body. If you suddenly deviate from those metrics without a reason (such as going on a diet), that can serve as a red flag that something is wrong.

A periodic check-in is also an opportunity to build a relationship with your primary physician. If you have questions about your health, this is the time to ask! A doctor can be a great time to get feedback about your diet, exercise or other self-care habits or concerns.

The Annual Check-Up Under Scrutiny

A few years ago, the annual checkup came under fire when a study revealed that recent medical breakthroughs mean the annual checkup was less necessary than it used to be.

But that doesn’t mean a person only needs to see the doctor when they’re feeling ill. Rather, modern technology allows physicians to make more personalized recommendations for individual patients. Based on factors like family history, personal history and test results, one individual may benefit from coming in every six months, while another may be fine to go two years between checkups.

Technology also enables patients to seek medical advice from anywhere, thanks to communication tools like Skype and email that allow doctors to take an initial look and let a patient know if that funny-looking mole on their shoulder is worth a closer look. Studies have shown that regardless of how patients get in touch with their doctors, the health benefits of checking in are the same.

Be Proactive About Your Health

While the annual medical checkup may be on its way out, regular communication with your physician will never be out of style. Be sure to communicate with your physician to determine how frequently you should come in for a checkup, and how to best stay in touch between office visits.

Whether you go for the traditional once-a-year approach, or work out a more customized schedule with your own doctor, be sure to be proactive about your health.

The Health Benefits of Fasting

People have fasted for thousands of years, and for thousands of years, people have held testament to this practice’s health benefits. And it turns out, they were on to something—the latest scientific research shows that the health benefits are real and manifold.

Fasting is the practice of not consuming food for extended periods. There are several different diets that incorporate fasting. The type of fast that is right for you depends on what fits your lifestyle best.

Regardless of the type of fasting you choose, studies have found a number of benefits to fasting, including:

Fat burn—When the body runs out of food to digest, it turns to glucose for energy. When it runs out of glucose, it starts burning fat. This leads to weight loss.

Metabolic boost—When the body has no food in it for a prolonged period, this causes the metabolic to fire up. This can also contribute to weight loss. One study showed fasting led to a 3-8 percent decrease in weight over a period of 3 to 24 weeks.

Preserve muscle—Because fasting causes growth hormone levels to increase in the blood, weight loss through fasting has been proven to preserve muscle better than diets that involve a prolonged reduction in calorie consumptiion.

Immune system—One study showed that longer periods of fasting (2-4 days) can clear out old immune cells and regenerate new ones, which strengthens the immune system. This immunity boost has been shown to help cancer patients reduce side effects during chemotherapy, when they fasted for three days prior to treatment.

Longer life—Two studies have even found evidence of improved longevity in fasting subjects at the molecular and genetic level—signs that fasting and modify your body’s gene expressions and help you life longer.

If you’re going to fast for the health benefits, it’s important to be aware of the risks, too. UK’s National Health Service has listed several, including dehydration, increased stress, disrupted sleep, headaches, and even heartburn. Some experts also correlate fasting to an increased risk for eating disorders. For these reasons, start fasting slowly and always listen to your body if you are struggling while fasting.

The Health Benefits of Water

We all know water is important to stay hydrated, but do you know all the ways that water is helping you stay at the top of your game?

With zero calories and a long list of benefits, there are few things that are healthier or more essential for our bodies than water. Check out these lesser-known benefits to keeping your water bottle topped off.

Reduce Your Calorie Count
Some confuse thirst for hunger, so staying well hydrated can keep you from reaching for a snack. Substituting water for higher calorie drinks like juice or soda in your everyday diet can add up to a lot, too.

Energize Your Muscles
When muscle cells get low on water, they don’t balance their hydration or electrolyte levels, so it causes you to feel fatigued. To get your muscles primed, start hydrating about two hours before exercising with about 17 ounces of water, and sip early and often throughout your workout.

Keep Your Skin Clear
Water helps to keep your skin moisturized, which can reduce the appearance of wrinkles and fights breakouts.

Flush Toxins
Your kidneys have the job of keeping the body cleansed of toxins. Keeping a good flow of water running through your body helps your kidneys process better. As a nice bonus, this reduces your risk of kidney stones.

Keep Yourself Regular
Water also keeps things moving through your gastrointestinal tract, which helps you stay comfortable and avoid, well, backups.

Reduce Pain
A well-hydrated body can better deal with aching joints, body cramps, and a whole slew of different bodily challenges, which means you’ll feel less pain overall when you drink more water.

Fight Infection
People who are better hydrated tend to get sick less often, because water helps your immune system stay at its best and more efficiently fight germs.

Clear Your Thoughts
Drinking water helps you focus and think better. One study even found a correlation between college students who brought water with them to class and those who got better grades.

The human body is about 60 percent water. So when we don’t have enough, we’re simply not at our best, and that shows itself in a myriad of ways. Fortunately, it’s easy to increase your water intake. Try trading a less healthy drink like beer or soda for a healthier option you like, or substitute a snack with water-dense fruits and veggies.

Whatever you choose, make a swap you can enjoy. You’re more likely to sustain the habit long-term, so don’t punish yourself by drinking tap water if you hate it.

Spring Has Sprung: Dealing With Allergies

Spring means sunnier days, warmer weather, blooming flowers … and for some, the unpleasantness of seasonal allergies.

From stuffy noses to coughing to sore throats, allergy symptoms can have a significant impact on your quality of life. If you’re among those with springtime allergies, you don’t have suffer through the entire season. Follow these five tips for a more enjoyable, less sniffly spring.

Pick your protection
There are many medication options available to ease allergy symptoms. Antihistamines are the most commonly recommended medication to treat allergies, and many effective options are available over-the-counter. Some antihistamines can cause drowsiness, so always read the label

For stronger allergies, a doctor may recommend a nasal spray. These can be very effective, but because side effects can include more serious things like nosebleeds, burning or dryness, always go for the lowest effective dose.

A doctor might also recommend allergy shots if medication is not enough to relieve symptoms. It may take as much as a shot a month for three to five years, but these work by slowly building up the body’s resistance to pollen, so it’s a long-term solution.

Prepare Early
Don’t wait until you’re suffering to start treating your allergies. For those who suffer from the same allergies every season, it’s best to be proactive and start taking an allergy medication at least one to two weeks before the allergy season starts.

This allows the medicine to get into your system, which can not only keep symptoms at bay as the season starts, but also help reduce the severity of symptoms throughout the whole season.

Limit Time Outdoors
It may be hard to resist the beautiful weather, but limiting your time outside can significantly reduce your symptoms—after all, outside is where the allergens are. This can be especially helpful in the midday and afternoon hours, which is when allergens tend to be heaviest in the air.

When you do go outside, protect your eyes by wearing glasses or sunglasses, and use a face mask when performing activities likely to aggravate allergies, such as mowing the lawn. For exercise, opt for the gym instead of a trail at the park.

When you go back inside, avoid carrying allergens around with you by taking a shower,a washing your hair right away, and changing your clothes.

Stay Informed
For a heads-up on just how important it is to protect yourself on any given day, pay attention to the local weather report to stay informed abut the pollen and mold counts in your area. The higher the count, the more aggravated your symptoms are bound to be.

Protect Your House
During allergy season, take steps to keep the house clear of the allergens outside. To start, take off your shoes before walking through the house to avoid trekking pollen through the house, and make sure others do, too. Keep your windows closed, and run the air conditioner.

Additionally, use a HEPA filter in your vacuum cleaner—they trap 99.97 percent of microscopic particles in the air.

Fight Back Against Allergies

Don’t let allergies hold you back this spring. Take a pass on the sniffly noses, the sneezing, and the sore throats.

If you are proactive and take these five steps to protect yourself from the allergens in the environment, you can reduce and even avoid your allergy symptoms all season long.

Bread, Rice, Pasta: Why Brown is Better

Many people love pasta and rice. However, most of us prefer the white versions of these foods over the brown because they look much tastier. However, where nutrition is concerned, brown bread, rice and pasta are much better for you. If you want to include more brown bread, rice and pasta in your diet, or if you are just curious about the nutritional benefits, then read on. Also, bear in mind that white rice and pasta, before they were processed looked just like their brown counterparts.

Processing Out the Nutrients

When brown rice and the wheat that later will be processed into white flour for pasta and bread are processed, the grains are damaged. Their hulls and outer shells are stripped away. With the stripping away of their outer coatings, the nutrients in those coatings are lost. This may not seem like a big deal, but it really is. Along with the nutrients from the coatings, the grains lose the protection their coatings provided. This means that the bleaching that makes wheat and rice white will leech more nutrients out of the grains than the loss of the coatings did. By the time brown rice and wheat have been processed fully, much of their nutrient value and flavor are gone. Some manufacturers go through the trouble of adding vitamins back in, but these products are not as good as eating whole-grain foods in the first place.

Losing the Fiber

One of the nutrients commonly lost due to processing is fiber. Fiber is a very important nutrient, one that all of us need. Fiber helps keep the digestive tract clear. It is very difficult for the body to digest, so when it travels through our bowels, it gathers up other waste products along the way, carrying them out of the body. It also tends to regulate the function of the digestive tract. Brown rice, as well as unprocessed wheat, still contain all the fiber present in the raw grains and are an excellent way to get your daily allowance.

Lower the Risk of Chronic Diseases

Whole grain foods, like brown rice, pasta and bread can lower the risk of chronic conditions such as diabetes when eaten as part of a healthy diet. The benefits of whole grain consumption are not only for diabetics. Eating whole grain cuts your risk of strokes thirty to thirty-six per cent. It can also cut the risk of heart disease, the number one killer in the United States by twenty to twenty-five per cent. That is an amazing drop in numbers for one simple dietary choice.

Whole grains such as brown rice and the wheat used to make the darker breads like whole wheat lose most of their nutrients when processed, leaving them mainly starch with no fiber, and even though some bread manufacturers put back some of the lost nutrients, it is still not enough. Therefore, eating whole grain foods is an important health decision. Processed grains also have a lack of fiber, which our bodies use to balance the digestive tract. Whole grains have a number of amazing chronic disease-reducing benefits. That is why looks are not everything and brown really is better than white when it comes to your health.

The Benefits of Paleo

As far as diets go, paleo is both very new and very old. At first, this may seem like a contradiction, but people have been eating in this fashion for millions of years, ever since the first hunter-gatherer tribes appeared on Earth. However, it was only just recently that we became aware of the health benefits of this historical way of eating. Whether you are planning on embracing the paleo lifestyle or just curious about the health benefits of this type of diet, then this article is for you. Here we will outline the health benefits of paleo so that you can decide whether it is for you. Paleo, for this article’s purposes, is the act of eating as our hunter-gatherer ancestors did. This means that you are allowed to eat foods which could be gathered from the ground or pulled from trees as are free-range, grass-fed animals. Gluten is prohibited, as are all processed foods as much as possible. This more natural way of eating of course promotes a number of health benefits.

Real Food Vs. Processed Food

Processed foods contain a lot of additives, preservatives, colorings, sodium and hidden sugar. These chemicals are not good for our bodies, causing everything from allergic reactions to sluggishness to high blood pressure. If you eat a paleo diet, which contains only whole, organically produced foods and some natural but packaged sauces and ingredients, you eliminate a large number of toxins from your body as well as the salt which raises your blood pressure and the hidden sugar that can increase your risk of diabetes and becoming overweight. Eliminating additives, preservatives and other unnecessary chemicals from your food also helps you feel much better, both mentally and physically, helping your body work at peak performance.

Get Your Nutrients

Along with the benefit of removing preservatives, the paleo diet also removes nutrient-void carbs. People eating in this manner tend to replace the filler carbs with fruits, vegetables and healthy fats. In fact, a person eating a paleo diet can get all the required nutrients for a day from plant-based foods, meat and fish. They eliminate grains and legumes, which also leads to increased gut health. Increased gut health, in turn means that their bodies digest food much more efficiently.

Weight Loss

Paleo diets promote a long-lasting weight loss and muscle growth when paired with a healthy lifestyle. Better stress management techniques as well as an improvement in sleep and a good balance of Omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids help to burn off stored fat. Also, eating a paleo diet will increase your energy, which will allow you to exercise longer without tiring.

Lose the Bloat

Many people eating a Western-style diet find themselves experiencing chronic bloat and gas which can be very uncomfortable. Eating a paleo diet reduces these symptoms, as paleo diets contain a lot of fiber. Fiber allows waste products in the body to be broken up more effectively and carried away, thereby eliminating constipation which can lead to much worse issues such as compaction. Those on paleo diets also drink an adequate amount of water and decrease their sodium intake. This both flushes out the waste and prevents water retention, which can lead to bloat.

Avoid Blood Sugar Crashes

If you have ever been in an important meeting at work and have suddenly found your mood plummeting as you got hungrier, then you have experienced a blood sugar crash. Eating a paleo diet can be very helpful in preventing these crashes and the accompanying spikes that occur when we eat because they are very rich in protein, fats, and slow-digesting carbs. Meals with a lot of protein and fat are very energy-dense and satisfying. This means you feel full sooner than if you were eating something like a bag of chips that was unbalanced. Carbs all raise your blood sugar a bit, but slow-digesting carbs do not raise it nearly as much. Nor do they let it drop as quickly. Slow-digesting carbs take a long time to be metabolized. This means that you will become hungry more slowly and without the irritabality and mood swings you might normally experience.

There are many benefits to a paleo diet. These are only a few. Paleo diets are rich in healthy fats, proteins, fruits, vegetables and slow-digesting carbs. This makes them the exact balance of the foods your body needs and people have been eating this way for millennia and still do in other parts of the world. These people are living happy, healthy lives, free from most of the health problems that face the Western world. Would it not be nice to live a life in which you had less of a risk of most of those problems? If you agree, then paleo just might be the right lifestyle choice for you.