5 EASY WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR HEALTH IN 5 MINUTES

Getting healthy doesn’t have to be hard or time consuming. Here are 5 easy ways in which you can improve your health in 5 minutes. Honestly, we all have 5 minutes

5 Minutes to Control Cravings

The best ways to control cravings is by eating! This sounds obvious but if we’re not

prepared these moments of hunger will make us devour what we promised that

same morning we would quit eating. It’s now about just eating more; it’s about

choosing a healthy snack. But not just any snack, you need to give your body

something balanced, satisfying and that will give you energy. I want to share with

you one of my favorite snacks. An added benefit is that it’s great at reducing

inflammation (and chronic inflammation is associated with degenerative disease, so

we should so everything to avoid it). In a small bowl mix blueberries, almonds and

sunflower seeds. Blueberries are a healthy carb that won’t spike your blood sugar,

they have antioxidants and anti-inflammatory benefits. Almonds and sunflower

seeds are also anti-inflammatory and contain healthy fats and protein. Mix these

three and you have a delicious snack to control cravings and reduce inflammation.

5 Minutes to Hydrate

Drinking water is one of the fastest ways to improve your health and it’s also one of

the biggest challenges for people. Staying hydrated is important because it’s how

our 37 trillion cells can function properly. The way I’m able to stay hydrated is by

taking my bottle everywhere I go, this way, I always remember to drink up. A 1-

minute tip to stay hydrated in to take 2-4 oz (just a zip) of coconut water in the

evening. You can do it when you get home from work or before dinner. Some of the

benefits of coconut water is that it has potassium (an important mineral and many

of us are deficient), it restores our electrolytes and it has natural sugar to stabilize

blood sugar levels.

5 Minutes for More Restful Sleep

Lets face it; in our do-it- all society we need help when it comes to resting. This is

why over 9million Americans are taking sleeping pills to be able to sleep at night,

but sleeping is not the same as resting. There are many things we can do to try to

improve our sleep quality (that don’t involve prescription drugs). One of the best

ways is to stretch before going to bed. You can look for a YouTube stretching video,

do your favorite Yoga poses or just do what feels right for your body at the moment.

Last year I was having trouble resting because of a back injury and my massage

therapist suggested that I stretch at night. I made it part of my routine, and not only

did my back improve but I noticed that I sleep better because I rest (plus, I’m much

more flexible).

5 Minutes to Burn Fat

If we want to loose weight and reduce our body fat there are many lifestyle changes

that we need to make—there’s no shortcut (or at least not a healthy one). But there

are ways in which we can optimize the fat-loss. One of the best ways to burn fat is by

drinking green tea. Green tea contains a catechin, which burn abdomen fat. It can be

hot or iced and you can add a bit of stevia to give it a great flavor.

5 Minutes to Reduce Stress

In our modern world, stress is just part of our lifestyle and instead of trying to get

rid of it (which will only bring more stress), we can actively manage it in healthy

ways. Everybody recommends exercising, sleeping better or managing our time

better. The best way that I’ve found to reduce stress is to say ‘no’ when I want to say

no. Everybody is busy! But sometimes we take on more than we can handle to help a

co-worker or to please a family member. This is not about being selfish or leaving

people hanging. It’s about knowing your limits, and learn how to be true to yourself.

This is actually an act of self-love but also an act of love to others. It’s not what we

do, it’s how we do it, and if you’re doing things for others with clenched teeth and

exhausted, it’s not going to be good for anyone. I invite you to say ‘no’ to something.

It can be a favor that someone asks, an invitation that you don’t want to accept, or

maybe something that will get in the way of you having a relaxing bath. When we

take care of ourselves without overloading with to-do lists, then we become more

productive and more loving towards others.