Proper ways of eating fruits

Fruits not only delicious but eating fruit is important to our overall health and wellbeing. Everyone knows fruit is healthy but there are correct ways to eat fruit to make sure it can fully benefit our health. It is not as simple as putting it straight to our mouth. Let’s learn about proper ways of eating fruits and your whole body will have less digestive problems and generate more energy.

Include fruits with our diet with proper way can help to improve our digestion system. The fruit contains all important nutrients such as fiber, potassium, vitamin C and so much more. The nutrients in fruit can help to prevent disease, lower risk of heart disease, stroke and high blood pressure. However, fruit must be taken by following certain guidelines. Otherwise it can create other health problems. Please continue reading to know more.

Fruit should be eaten alone on an empty stomach

When we eat fruits, the digestive process works very quickly and our body uses different enzyme to digest it. The simple sugars contained in fruit need some time to be absorbed by our body. When fruit is eaten alone, our stomach can digest easier the components in fruit such as fiber, sugar and other nutrients. If you eat fruit close to meal or during the important meal, the fruit will be in your stomach with other foods that you ate, making it longer to digest. The fruit will rot in your stomach so your body can’t absorb the whole nutrients. Combining fruit and other foods can cause heartburn, indigestion and other digestion discomfort. It is better to eat fruit 1 to 2 hours before meal depending on how heavy your meal is.

The best time to eat fruit – first thing in the morning with an empty stomach

It’s a good idea to eat more fruit at one time. You can make fruit salad or a fruit smoothie or just an apple. The ideal fruit intake per day is 3-4 servings with 2 cups of fruit. If you feel hungry after your food servings, pay attention to what you have had for breakfast or perhaps you need to make a little bit of adjustment to your meal. You should be able to wait for 1-2 hours. That will ensure all the fruit is processed and absorbed by your body. Don’t eat fruit before going to bed because the sugar in fruit will give you energy so you will have difficulty to sleep.

My homemade fruit salad just simply tempting

Reference: http://www.mindbodygreen.com

Feel good about yourself - stay positive

Every person born into this world is unique and special. Some people are born lucky while some people don’t.  Sometimes, we wish that we were born as lucky as other people that we want to be. We wish to be in someone’s position because we are not happy with what we have.

But remember, when we feel upset with ourselves, there are a lot of people out there who live in poverty and remain deprived of educational opportunities. Although we can’t afford staying in luxury bungalow and driving a big car, at least we have a proper job and a proper house to live. We are rich when we are surrounded by people that we love and are loved by. Material isn’t as beautiful as life that god gave us.

It’s too easy to compare ourselves to our peers and we seem to come up short. We tend to remember the negatives than positives so try to experience something positive more often. Just think about what we had achieved before such as getting salary increment and visiting places we wanted.

Stop thinking that you have to live up to other people’s expectation in order to make you happy. Don’t let others decide what you need to do in your life. Let’s face it, you don't wake up every morning just to impress other people.

Live an exciting life filled with the things you love. Do everything with passion and light up every room that you enter.

Stay positive and live your life to the fullest!

Let's power walk!

If you want to lose weight but don’t feel like to jog, you can try power walking. Power walking is one of the cheapest, easiest and most effective way to lose weight. This activity works on almost part of our body, from our posture to our muscle. It not only works best toning up our thighs and calves and lift our bum, but also burn more calories than jogging at the same pace. Power walking can strengthen our tummy and back muscles and flatten stomach at the same time. To tone your upper arm, you can swing your arms briskly during your brisk walk.

If you walk fast enough, you should be able to burn approximately 400 calories an hour. According to study, if you power walk a minimum four times a week with minimum 45 minutes each time, you could lose approximately 8kg a year without changing your diet. Regular power walking can speed up your overall metabolic thus prevents long-term weight gain.

This activity is effective to shape your body within the short term. You can feel the improvement to your body shape after two weeks of walking, three to four times a week with 30-45 minutes for each session. In order to make it effective, you need to speed your walking until you can feel your heart rate increase. To do this, you must use your hips and feet differently.

Power walking is the exercise that has low risk of injury. If you are pregnant, of course you can’t go for jog so power walking is safer for you.

Photo credit: withlovefay.com

Reference: http://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/dieting/power-walk-this-way-shed-the-pounds-382813

Health benefits of sleep

We all love to sleep and it is obvious that sleep is important to our health and well-being. By getting enough night sleep, we will feel more energetic during the next day. People who have insufficient sleep (less than 6 or 7 hours) are prone to many types of disease. Research shows that sleep plays a critical role in immune function, metabolism, memory, learning and other important functions. Ongoing lack of sleep can increase the risk for obesity and heart disease. If you have sleep problem, you should consult your physician or health care professional. Keep reading to know more about sleep benefits.

Healthy heart

Sleep can keep our heart healthy. Usually, heart attack and stroke occur during the early morning time. This is explained by interaction between sleep and blood vessel. Lack of sleep can cause blood pressure and cholesterol to worsen that are the risk factors for heart disease and stroke. To keep your heart healthier, get minimum 7 hours of sleep each night.

Prevent from cancer

Sleep has been associated with prevention of cancer. People who work on the night shift have a risk to get breast and colon cancer. Researchers believe that this may cause by too much exposure to light at night which will reduce the melatonin level. Melatonin is a type of hormone that makes us sleepy and it is thought to prevent from cancer. This hormone can avoid tumours to develop. So make sure you turn off the light so that your body can produce the melatonin it needs.

Reduce stress

We often feel stress when our body doesn’t get sufficient sleep. Our body tend to be on high alert which causes an increase of blood pressure thus stimulate stress hormones. So grab your pillow, ease your mind and get a good sleep. Learn relaxation techniques to counter your stress.

Boost your memory

When we sleep, our brain will consolidate memory. While your body is in resting mode, your brain will process your day, connecting between events, sensory input, feelings and memories. When you have dream during your sleep, it is the important time for your brain to make memories and links. You will be able to remember things more clearly if you get quality sleep.

Get smarter with power nap

If you feel sleep during your afternoon break, get a power nap for like 30 minutes as an alternative to caffeine. It not only can make you refresh but you also can feel more productive. A study shows that people who napped several times a week had lower risk of heart disease. Napping can improve your memory, cognitive function and mood.

So what are your waiting for. Sleep is an effortless way to live longer.

Reference: http://longevity.about.com/od/lifelongenergy/tp/healthy_sleep.htm

Distress yourself with vacation

Stress and over commitment to work or study can lead to an increased risk of heart disease, unhealthy mental and emotional. If you don’t bother to take vacation, you will be vulnerable to many types of illness and get older than your age. Research suggests that taking regular vacations literally reduce stress that is important to your emotional and physical well-being apart from healthy diet and exercise. Vacations seem to have a positive impact on individual, family and organization.

People who frequently take vacations are less likely feel depressed or tense. They can reduce the risk of heart disease and any other disease that related to stress. Vacations give them more opportunity to spend quality time together with their family and spouse, thus strengthen ties with each other. After returning from vacations, they tend to be more interested in their job thus increase morale and become more productive.

You don’t need to spend thousands of Ringgit for your vacation overseas while you can actually find many beautiful places locally. You can refer to tips below to plan your unforgettable vacations.

Plan ahead your vacation

There are many websites available that you can refer to plan for your vacation. It is advisable to book your flight and hotel earlier because the price is slightly cheaper. You can visit Expedia.com to see the latest offer and the best deal available. The price is sorted according to the lowest and the highest so you will have more options to choose from. This going to be your exciting homework!

Take one week off

The longer the vacation, the greater psychological benefits that you can gain. Try to take 7 days off for your vacation so that you will have more time to chill. Perhaps you can plan 5 days trip and another 2 days for you to relax at home before resuming your work.                                          

The blissful Sapi Island in Sabah

Island escape

Malaysia have many beautiful islands that tourists are dying for. Warm destinations are perfect for you to soothe your soul and ease your mind. There are a lot of activities you can do such as island hoping, snorkel and swim in the clear island waters. Just make sure you apply sunblock on your skin. Having romantic dinner on the beach can be perfect for you and your spouse.

Me enjoying sunset at Kuta Beach, Bali

Enjoy the gift of nature

The world has many wonderful gifts for us to enjoy. Go to the quiet place from civilization whether it is a forest, grass field, river or mountain. Just enjoy the sightseeing of remarkable landscape and taking photos.

Ottago Peninsula in New Zealand

My sister captured this staring sheep during her trip to New Zealand

My mom during her first time going overseas trip to New Zealand

So change your mindset and stop thinking that vacation is a luxury way of spending time. Make it regular activity for you and your loved ones.

Basic jump rope exercise

Cardio exercise is the most effective exercise to lose weight but not many of us can maintain this exercise routine every week. I can’t discipline myself to workout outdoor every week so I redeemed my Bonuslink points to get a skip rope. Jump rope is not a very popular exercise routine among the gym freak. However, it is easy and cheap way to perform because you don’t need to go outdoors or drag your feet to the gym. 10-minute jump rope exercise can burn approximately 135 calories. This express workout can also shape your shoulders, chest, arms and legs. Let’s get started!

How to jump rope

• Jump 1 to 2 inches off floor, make sure the rope has just enough space to slip under feet – only the bottom part of feet should touch the floor.
• Keep elbows close to sides as you turn the rope. Concentrate your movement from the wrists and forearms, not the shoulders.
• If you already tired before you finish the workout, drop the rope but keep your arms and legs going. Work up to using the rope full-time.
• To find a suitable rope, place one foot in the center of the rope and lift the handles – a suitable rope must not go exceed your armpits.

Just take 10 minutes of your time daily to perform this exercise and see for yourself. Good luck!

http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/workout/arms/express/jump-rope-workouts/

Water and its goodness

Water is essential for our body to maintain health and beauty. Drinking plenty of water (ideally eight (8) glasses per day) can help to maintain the balance of body fluids, help control calories, and rejuvenating skin. Wash your hair with cold water can maintain its shine. Pure water is the universe’s best beauty solution.

Maintain body fluids

Our body is composed of 60% water. The function of our body fluids include digestion, absorption, blood circulation, creation of saliva, transport nutrients, and maintaining body temperature.

Control body weight

You can control your body weight by drinking plenty of water because it can replace high-calorie drinks like any sweet drinks. I always drink plenty of water together with my meals so that I feel full faster. It’s good to help my weight-loss regimen.

Healthier skin

Skin is the largest part of the body. By drinking plenty of water, your body naturally flush out the toxins that is harmful to your body, giving you a healthier and glowing skin. Drinking purified water keeps your skin moist and supple as a result, giving your skin fresh and clear. The right amount of water that you should drink is eight cups per day or one cup for every 9kg of your weight.

Shinier hair

Washing your hair with chill water can flatten your hair shaft, overcome frizz, which resulting smooth and shiny hair. If you don’t feel like to take cold shower, start with lukewarm water first and take cold water at the end of the shower.

Who say you need to spend thousands of Ringgit to look good. Water is just suffice! I hope you will start drinking plenty of water after reading this post.

Welcome!

Welcome to SYUREINADIARIES blog. This blog aims to motivate readers to practice a healthy living. Many factors affect your health. There are certain factors that you cannot control such as your genetic, age and makeup. However, you can change your lifestyle by eating right together with enough rest and adequate exercise. We heard a lot of people suffer from serious illness resulting from unhealthy lifestyle. By taking steps toward healthy living, you can prevent illnesses and diseases which could affect your quality of life. This blog will provide you with health related info and practical workout tips. Happy reading!

With lots of love,

Syureina