If you long for the type of backyard that leaves your guests in awe, it’s time to start beautifying your property. You can go big or go small when it comes to sprucing up your yard.

1. Cleanup

No lawn looks luscious when it is cluttered with old toys or gardening tools. Clear out your space before attempting anything else. Trim your hedges, pull the weeds and dig out any old bushes that have seen better days. If you have dead or dying trees, call in professional landscapers to have them removed.

2. Aquascaping

Nothing adds the wow factor to an outdoor space more than a water feature. Whether you add a fountain, pond or small lake, guests will be drawn to it. Many homeowners now feel confident enough to build their own backyard ponds as a result of the Internet and all of the resources available on it. However, if you are not quite so confident, you can enlist an aquascaping services Florida professional to help you complete the job properly.

3. Landscaping

Develop a plan for your yard rather than haphazardously purchasing plants and shrubbery. Do some research and determine how many plants you can fit into each area. You don’t want your plants growing on top of one another after a few seasons because you failed to properly research and plan your garden. If you are at a loss for how to proceed or what type of plants will work for your property, consider consulting a landscaper, even if just to help you draw up a plan.

Upgrading your backyard will help you create your very own oasis at home. Remember to start by cleaning up your yard and clearing out any old shrubs or trees. Then you can worry about adding a water feature and landscaping that you can relax and enjoy for many years to come.…

Benefits and Side Effects of Vitamin C

Common cold or fever, wound or fracture, Vitamin C is the common solution. This vitamin helps in increasing the immune system by boosting the nutrients required. It also helps in reducing the histamine levels and aids in curing cold and fever.

The collagen content in the vitamin plays a vital role in healing the wounds. When used externally, this also acts as a very good sunscreen by protecting the skin from damages caused by UV rays. Citrus juice acts as natural bleach to the skin and as body coolant. Due to these properties, vitamin C is one of the vital components in various skin care products available in the market.

The major known disease called Scurvy is treated by vitamin C. This vitamin got its name ascorbic acid which means devoid of scurvy. James a well known British scientist found Vitamin C to be the remedy for scurvy.

The antioxidant property in vitamin C helps in preventing cancer. This property assists in keeping body cells and their mechanism from being damaged and dying. The antioxidant property also helps in maintaining cholesterol levels in our body, thus, reducing the risk of heart problems.

Nutrients in this vitamin are also good for your eyes. It acts as a safeguard to your eye lens and prevents blurring of eyes, one of the basic indications of cataract.

It is also found that the healing property in Vitamin C helps in controlling the blood sugar, thus, curing diabetes. It is water soluble, so it is non-toxic.

Problems due to deficiency of vitamin C

Scurvy, early ageing, fatigue, reduced collagen levels, loss of blood, slow curing of wounds, gum inflammation and yellowing, insufficient thyroid secretion, weakening of capillaries, lack of resistance for illness and unsustainable situation for medicines and environmental toxins are few consequences of vitamin C deficiency. These problems can be rectified by intake of fruits, vegetables and supplements that are rich sources of Vitamin C.

Foods with vitamin C

Citrus fruits like lemon, orange, grapefruit, sweet lime, guava, kiwis and strawberries are good source of vitamin C. Vegetables like tomato, potato, cantaloupe, broccoli, red cabbage, green pepper, red pepper, radish, cauliflower, lentils, gooseberries, eggplant, and spinach are well-known suppliers of this vitamin as well.

If the natural sources are not easily available, you can choose from the range of over the counter vitamin C supplements. It will benefit you the same way as the natural sources.

Side effects of vitamin C

Overdose of anything will hinder the metabolism of the body. Excess dosage of vitamin C causes diarrhea, indigestion, hemolytic anemia and kidney stones. In few cases, overdose of vitamin C may cause miscarriage by lessening the progesterone secretion by corpus luteum. It may also result in jaundice, skin rashes, back pain and fever.

Tips to remember

– Eat healthy and stay healthy.

– Always opt for natural resources than food supplements.

– It is a myth that excess medicines will cure the illness fast. Always take the prescribed quantity of medicines.

– Consult a doctor before taking any food supplements.

Vitamin C is an ideal solution for many health issues and does not have any side effects, as it is water soluble when taken under the limits. Add the right quantity of all necessary vitamins and minerals in your food and live a healthy life.…

Type 2 Diabetes – Heart Healthy Diet Tips for Diabetics

Do you want to have a healthier heart? If you are a person with Type 2 diabetes, having a healthy heart is extremely important when it comes to preventing long-term, potentially fatal complications. Heart disease and hypertension are two of the most common complications a Type 2 diabetic will face. Once you have diabetes, your risk for heart disease can be four times greater.

Here are some heart healthy dietary tips for you to keep in mind and put into practice.

1. First of all, use low-fat cooking methods whenever possible. Learn to cook with less fat by eliminating butter and margarine. There are great butter sprays you can buy at your local grocery store to give you the taste you want without the extra fat and calories.

People have a tendency to add too much butter or margarine to their foods when it really isn’t necessary. Margarine is especially unhealthy as it is hydrogenated fat and a long way from being healthy for your body.

2. Consume a diet rich in vegetables, fruits and beans. You should also eat complex carbohydrates and whole grains such as quinoa and brown rice. Limit your carbohydrate intake and focus mostly on eating lots of low-GI vegetables. Green vegetables are important as they give you tons of nutrients and also help fill you up.

3. Eliminate your fried food intake as well. This means avoiding the fast food check out line as much as possible. Eating overly processed foods will not give you any nutrient value and only serve to disrupt your blood sugar control.

Stay away from the interior of most grocery stores as this is where the processed foods reside. Remain on the outer portions of the grocery store where the meat, vegetables and low-fat dairy products are located. By staying away from the junk food, you won’t tempt yourself as badly.

4. Choose leaner selections of meat so you avoid additional fat. This can include selections such as turkey breast and chicken breast without the skin. Also, make sure to eat portions of meat that are no larger than the palm of your hand, twice per day. You can add meat to your salad or eat it with a side of vegetables.

By making these heart healthy dietary changes, you will increase your chances of living a long and healthy life even if you have Type 2 diabetes. In fact, these diet changes are important for anyone whether they have diabetes or not. They help reduce weight, cut down on inflammation and reduce the risks associated with heart disease and stroke.

Don’t forget to monitor your blood sugars. Keeping your blood sugar as near to normal as possible protects your body from all diabetic complications further down the line.…

Athletes involve their bodies with a lot of performance, causing pressure on their bodies. This may lead to inflammation or even pain in untraceable parts of their bodies. In the past, when CBD products were not common and appreciated in the sports industry, most athletes subjected their bodies to the use of painkillers.

Most health experts can confirm that prolonged use of painkillers causes depression as well as a weak immune system. The best way to replace this is the use of CBD products, which most of them have been said to be the best for athletes. More details on the relevance of these products to athletes are provided below.

Relieves pain

As an athlete, there are many types of exercises you will be required. They are very extreme and may leave you with a lot of muscle pain. This pain is well managed, the individual can have a very hard time when exercising for the rest of the day as well as partaking in other activities. Most athletes who use Best CBD oil for athletes can attest to the lot of muscle tolerance they have realized from this. It is said to be more effective and easy to use.

Improves sleep

Athletes who regularly take CBD products are known to have better sleeping patterns. With quality sleep, one’s performance can be elevated, hence good training sessions which are promoted by the body’s functioning being active. The CBD products help in breaking down carbohydrates in the body, which helps the release and increase of the hormone responsible for sleep. There are other factors that affect sleep in athletes; psychological problems depression as well as anxiety. Taking CBD products helps relieve anxiety, hence a calm and restful body which makes one sleep more.

Improves the gut

There are many ways through which your gut health can affect the overall performance of your body;

• The immune system
• Sleep quality
• Mood
• The resistance of your body to some diseases

There are important constituents in CBD products that help to keep your digestive system at its best.CBD products provide fiber to the body which improves bowel movement. The products also help prevent diarrhea which may be caused by your body not sitting well with the intake of some nutrients. For people who are struggling with weight loss, the products can be a good thing to incorporate into your diet when working out.

Reduces inflammation

Before the body adjusts to its normal functioning, especially if you are a new athlete, your body can go through a lot of inflammation. This may affect the skin or the internal parts of the body; this includes muscles as well as other parts of the body. Inflammation can make you feel less active, which affects your overall performance. It can also lead to chronic pain which may be difficult for one to handle. There are various CBD products meant to handle inflammation for people who take it vigorous activities.

CBD products have been confirmed best to handle different medical conditions, it is always important for one to enquire from a health specialist first and get the right prescription. This is to have their performance boosted for their wellbeing in their sports career.…

7 Foods That Are Good for Your Thighs

Most women struggle somewhat with the shape or “chunkyness” of their thighs. A lot of this is due to genetics, gender, and a whole list of things that are beyond our control. We do however make matters worse by eating foods that are easily transformed into fat and as many of us tend to deposit fat on our bottom half first, we turn ourselves into pears.

There are quite a few foods though, of which I’m only going to mention 7 right now, that help the body to more easily burn its own fat and therefore give us thinner hotter legs. Not to mention that these foods themselves don’t convert into fat very easily.

1) Salmon (Leptin and Omega 3): Leptin (Greek leptos meaning thin) is a 16 kDa protein hormone that plays a key role in regulating energy intake and energy expenditure, including appetite and metabolism.

2) Whole grains: Whole grain products include breads, pastas, and cereals that are made with whole grains rather than white processed flours. Whole grain flours are made from the whole kernels of grains – both the inside part of the grain and the outer covering called the husk.

3) Lean Protein: Fish; Skinless White meat of turkey or chicken; Beef (Lean cuts such as “loin” or “round”, of which the visible fat has been trimmed down).

4) Spinach: raw is even better than cooked.

5) Citrus fruit like lemon (vitamin C): Vitamin C might not keep you from catching a cold, but not getting an adequate amount of the vitamin can keep you from burning fat. By diluting the fat, it makes it is easier to flush it out of your body. People with low levels of vitamin C in their blood burn 25% less fat than those who do not have low concentrations. Vitamin C also attacks cholesterol deposits

6) Honey, this is also a form of sugar, this should be consumed in moderation, and more as a replacement for refined sugars. Honey is high in energy and some believe it actually has healing powers.

7) The Indian plum, i.e. jambula, is renowned for its weight controlling properties. Jambula dissolves the excess fats and gets them properly utilized in the body. Take four leaves of the jambula plant and soak them in a glass of water overnight. In the morning, discard the leaves and drink the water on an empty stomach. If you do this everyday, then you will find a positive reduction in your weight in three weeks or a month.

Any and all of these foods are good when it comes to losing some of the unwanted fat we carry around our thighs.…

Healthy Eating – The Benefits of Rhubarb

Rhubarb is botanically recognised as Rheum rhabarbarum and is a member of the Polygonaceae family. The leaves of Rhubarb are toxic but they are also bitter. It is thought that for the amount needed to produce toxic effect one could not handle eating it at that level. Needless to say the leaves of Rhubarb are not edible.

The stalks of rhubarb are the edible part of the plant. It grows similar to silverbeet with deep red stalks eaten as both a sweet and savoury food. It is often assumed that rhubarb is a fruit because it is most commonly used in sweet dishes such as pies, jams and tarts but rhubarb is in fact a vegetable – used in sweet dishes. A fruit is the portion of a plant that contains the seeds, since it is the stalks we eat on rhubarb it is incorrect calling it a fruit. Though happenings in America in the late 1940’s declared that because it was used as a sweet food it should be declared a fruit. I have always referred to it as a stalk or simply a vegetable.

Rhubarb grows throughout summer in cooler areas but can be grown throughout the year if grown in a hothouse protected from cold and frost.

Historically the first mention of rhubarb appears to be in china where reports date it back to beyond 2500BC. Rhubarb made its first appearance in America during the early 1800’s.

Rhubarb is a good source of vitamin C and also contains calcium and fibre. It is a good source of Vitamin A, Vitamin K and Vitamin E. Rhubarb is also contains B group vitamins – Thiamine, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Pantothenic acid and Folate. Rhubarb is low in fat and contains Magnesium, Phosphorous, Potassium, Sodium, Zinc, Manganese, Copper, Iron and Sodium.

Rhubarb has many uses in both sweet and savoury dishes. It is typically blended with other sweet foods such as apple or berries. Rhubarb has a bitter taste which many find unpleasant on its own. If consumed on its own it is usually combined with sugar or honey to add sweetness and flavour.

Apple and Rhubarb Pies are common. The rhubarb can be stewed with apple or each ingredient cooked separately and combined in the pie.

Rhubarb and mixed berry tarts are another favourite. The berries add much flavour and colour while the rhubarb adds to the nutrient content and adds a mildly bitter taste and texture.

Health wise, Rhubarb is a powerful laxative and has been used by the Chinese for centuries to maintain regular bowel habits. Rhubarb is also good for the heart and may assist in lowering cholesterol.…

Chlorella Health Benefits – Detoxification of Heavy Metals

It is no surprise that we encounter thousands of toxins every day. Toxins and heavy metals can be found everywhere, including in our food, our water, and even our air! Over time, dangerous levels of heavy metals and toxins can build up in our bodies which lead to serious health issues. However, many people with extreme amounts of heavy metals and toxins in their bodies may not even realize it because symptoms are often similar to several other health issues. Have you ever:

Felt tired and fatigued?

Felt stressed?

Felt a decrease in stamina?

Felt sick more often than others?

Just felt plain out of balance?

Then you may be experiencing increased levels of heavy metals and toxins in your body. Chlorella, a 2 billion year old microalgae, is the most natural and effective way to rid your body of these impurities. In fact, one of the Chlorella health benefits is that it only binds to heavy metals and toxins, leaving all of your essential vitamins, nutrients, and minerals right where they belong! Chlorella may be effective in not only treating, but actually reversing, health problems such as arthritis, depression, asthma, high blood pressure, and diabetes. However, you don’t need to suffer from major health issues to reap the many Chlorella health benefits. Adding this nutrient-packed super food to your daily diet aids digestion, increases energy, promotes fresh breath, and boost your immune system (which is vital during this cold and flu season). It is recommended when add Chlorella to your daily supplement regimen. To choose a Chlorella supplement that it is Organic and Fair-Trade Certified. Perfect Aquatic Greens has a the balanced mix of Spirulina and Chlorella in from Perfect Supplements which provides maximum Chlorella health benefits at an affordable price.…