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What is Brown Fat-And How to Increase It

Its quite exciting to note there are different kinds of body fat-white, yellow, brown, beige, and belly fat. Ok, belly fat is not color, but excess belly fat can be a severe health concern.

Well, there is one kind of fat that burns calories, fights obesity, and even reduces the risk of diabetes. Guess who?

It’s the brown fat that’s usually found more in people with lower body mass index. This specialized fat is located in weird parts in your body and is probably hard to find, and the funny part is even mild stress activates brown fat.

So what is brown fat

It’s a special type of fat that gets activated when you feel cold. It warms up your body by producing heat and helps maintain your body temperature in cold climates.

Brown fat cells contain more mitochondria than white fat. These mitochondria burn calories to produce heat. Brown fat is also known as brown adipose tissue.

White fat vs. brown fat

White fat- the one you primarily have known your whole life stores energy in large fat droplets and accumulates it around your body. The fat accumulation provides insulation for your organs and keeps your body warm as well.

But too much white fat in humans leads to obesity. Likewise, plenty of white fat around the midsection can lead to diabetes, heart problems, and other diseases.

Alternatively, brown fat stores energy in smaller space than white fat-Packed with iron-rich mitochondria brown fat burns to produce heat without shivering. This process is termed as thermogenesis. During thermogenesis, it also burns calories.

Previously scientists believed only babies had brown adipose tissue that helped them to regulate body temperature. Also, they thought it disappeared once people became adults.

But now science reveals that even adults have reserves of brown fat-especially in small deposits around the neck, collarbone, kidneys, and spinal cord.

Brown fat is good

A research study found that brown adipose tissue can help your body to filter and remove (BCAAs) branched-chain aminoacids-leucine, isoleucine, and valine. You see these BCAAs in foods like milk, meat, eggs, chicken, and eggs, as well as in supplements that help build muscle mass.

In average concentration, these BCAAs promote good health, but in excess amounts, they are linked to obesity and diabetes. Researchers found people with little brown adipose tissue have problems in clearing these BCAAs from their systems that may cause diabetes or obesity.

How to increase brown adipose tissue

As brown adipose tissue has so many benefits, it’s natural that you want to know how to increase it. Here’s a lowdown of some easy ways to increase brown fat.

Avoid starving or stuffing yourself

Our hunger regulating hormones in the brain notify us when we had enough. It seems that these neurons have another duty as well. Researchers from the Yale school of medicine found that the neurons encourage fat to turn brown.

The study points out that eating few calories prevents fat from becoming brown. While a sufficient amount of food to satisfy hunger prompts the action of neurons to convert white fat to brown.

Other research studies also show that overconsumption increases white fat and even interferes with the brown adipose tissue’s ability to burn calories. Researchers also found that a hearty carbohydrate-rich meal activated brown adipose tissue and was as effective as the cold stimuli.

Eat an apple

Whether or not an apple keeps the doctor away, it keeps the fat away. University of Iowa researchers found that the ursolic acid present in apple peels and also gives apples their sheen boosted brown adipose tissue in mice, even when they were fed a high-fat diet.

Exercise

Moving your body may seem a no brainer when it comes to burning fat. A research study published in the journal Disease Models and Mechanisms found that exercise triggers an enzyme called irisin that induces white fat cells to turn to brown fat cells. So what’s so special about this enzyme?

Researchers from Harvard and other U niversities talk about irisin in a study published in Nature. According to their research, this previously unknown enzyme is produced in working muscles in mice.

From there, it enters the bloodstream and migrates to other tissues, especially to fat- from where it starts a series of biochemical processes that cause some of the white fat cells to turn brown.

Turn down the thermometer

Scientists have found that short term exposure with cold exposure activates brown fat energy metabolism and may burn up to 15 percent more calories.

Brown adipose tissue burns calories through fatty acid oxidation. Scientific literature says that moderate cold exposure is the biggest activator of brown adipose tissue. Researchers found that people with active brown adipose tissue burnt 20 more kilocalories than those without it.

Also, they found that individuals with active brown fat burned significant fat with intense cold exposure and had a healthier fatty acid blood profile.

Another research found in the Journal of Clinical Investigation dealt with 12 young men with low than average amounts of active brown adipose tissue. They were made to sit in 63 degrees Fahrenheit room for two hours a day for six weeks. The researchers found that the participants burnt an extra 108 calories in the cold temperatures than in the average indoor temperatures.

After six weeks, their bodies were burning a whopping extra 289 calories in the cold. This action prompted the researchers to hypothesize exposure to lower temperatures increased the activity of a gene that converts white fat into brown.

Increase your body’s melatonin production

Research says that melatonin increases the presence of beige fat similar to that of brown adipose tissue in its fat-burning actions. While you might want to take supplement health experts, advise you to go the natural route.

Limiting nighttime exposure to light from TVs, computers, and other light exposure, getting adequate sunlight. Exposure during the day, and including melatonin rich foods in your diet, including tomatoes, almonds tart cherries, coriander, and cardamom.

Drink a cup of coffee

A research study says that drinking coffee may stimulate brown adipose tissue and help you burn calories. Increasing its activity improves blood lipid levels and blood sugar control. It prevents obesity and diabetes, as well.

Also, the extra calories burnt help with weight loss. This research is a unique study as its the first of its kind -with something as simple as a coffee can have a direct effect on brown fat functions. Using the thermal imaging technique, scientists found that brown adipose tissue in the neck region got hotter after the research participant had a drink of coffee.

In conclusion

Never let your brown adipose tissue sit idle, keep it active most of the time to stay healthy and fit.

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A Beginners Guide to Flexitarian Diet

The terrific aspect of the flexitarian diet is it doesn’t pigeon hole into a single way of eating-neither; its too restrictive but offers more flexibility. The open-ended nature of this diet makes it easier to stick to. Flexitarian diet is not only pocket friendly but environmentally friendly too.

What is the Flexitarian diet?

The name is a combination of the words Flexible and vegetarian -flexitarian.

Flexitarian diet is mostly an eating style that promotes plant-based food while allowing meat, fish, eggs, and dairy in moderation. It will enable more flexibility in eating than vegan or vegetarian diets.

This diet is the brainchild of Dawn Jackson Blatner, a famous dietician. Her motto is to help people to obtain the health benefits of a vegetarian diet while eating animal products in moderation.

Flexitarians are not considered vegans or vegetarians because they eat animal products. Flexitarian diet is more than a diet-its lifestyle. You don’t need to follow any dietary patterns or recommended calories to practice this diet. But it insists on some basic principals.

Concentrate on proteins from plants instead of animals
Mainly focus on vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes.
Avoid processed foods and eat natural forms of nourishment.
Limit added sugar and sweets.
Include animal and meat products from time to time.

Possible Health Benefits of Vegetarian Diet

Apart from being flexible, it offers some incredible health benefits.

Reduces risk of type 2 diabetes

Scientific literature states that a vegetarian diet was more effective in reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes. Since the flexitarian diet is more vegetarian friendly, this diet will be helpful for people with diabetes.

In a study seventy-four research participants consumed the same number of calories for six months. Some followed a vegetarian diet while others followed a diet that stressed a reduction of fats, carbs, sugars, and cholesterol.

Interestingly people who ate a vegetarian diet lost a lot of intramuscular and subcutaneous fat. The intramuscular fat can affect your insulin resistance and can even lead to diabetics.

Another study states that flexitarians had a lower risk of diabetes when compared with non-vegetarians.

May lower cancer risk.

Nutrients and antioxidants that fight cancer are present in vegetables, fruits, seeds, nuts, legumes, and whole grains. Research studies point out that vegetarian diets are linked with an overall incidence of reduction of cancer, especially colorectal cancer. A well planned plant-based diet is helpful in protection against various types of cancers.

Aids in weight loss

Flexitarian diet has a massive following because it helps you to follow a vegetarian diet without altogether avoiding meat. Studies show that plant-based eating plans help to lower the risk of stroke, heart disease, and high blood pressure. A research review points out that a semi-vegetarian diet leads to a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes, increased metabolic health, as well as short and long term weight loss.

Another notable research study says that a low-calorie vegetarian diet helps reduce body weight and fat and improves heart health.

A recent research study published in 2018 notes that plant-based diets like vegetarian diets help to reduce the risk of diabetes while increasing the quality of life and psychological wellbeing of people living with diabetes.

Possible health risks

The quality of plant-based foods is essential when it comes to healthy eating. However, there’s a hidden danger of nutritional deficiencies when people cut back on meat and other animal products. The risk of dietary deficiencies that may arise due to a flexitarian diet include

Zinc
Iron
Vitamin B12
Omega 3 fatty acids
Calcium

Downsides to eating a vegetarian diet include risk of stroke, deficiency in choline that may affect brain health, hair loss, and mood problems.

So how do you get started with a flexitarian diet

Actually, its relatively easy to shift into the flexitarian diet. Just follow these three steps.

Re-portion your plate

Experts advise you to downsize meat and grains while increasing the quantity of vegetables. Aim to include 25 percent from whole grains, for example, quinoa, brown rice, and whole-grain pasta—fifty percent from fruits and vegetables and the last 25 percent fish, meat, and poultry.

Reinvent old favorites

Swap meat for chickpeas, lentils, or beans -these protein-rich foods are less expensive than pork, chicken, and beef. Also, you can use low sodium sauce, potatoes, mushrooms, green tea, and tomato sauce for enhancing the flavor of vegetarian foods.

Refresh your recipe repertoire

Liven up your recipe collection by grabbing recipes from the internet, through various vegetarian magazines and cookbooks, ask your friends for their favorite dishes, and scroll through old family cookbooks. Call up your grandma or aunts for unique vegetarian recipes. Introducing a new flavor or cooking a different dish will unknowingly increase your vegetarian intake.

Foods to include

Proteins: legumes, lentils, tofu, soybeans
Starchy vegetables: peas, corn, winter squash, sweet potato
Fruits: oranges, apples, grapes, apples, berries
Non-starchy vegetables: bell peppers, greens, green beans, cauliflower, carrots
Whole grains: teff, quinoa, buckwheat, farrow
Plant-based milk alternatives: coconut, hemp, soy milk, unsweetened almond
Herbs, spices, seasonings: oregano, mint, thyme, basil, cumin, turmeric, ginger
Condiments: apple cider vinegar, mustard, salsa, reduced-sodium soy sauce, nutritional yeast, ketchup without added sugar
Beverages: tea, coffee, still sparkling water

Also, add to your diet.

Free-range or pasture-raised eggs
Organic, free-range or pasture-raised poultry
Wild-caught fish
Grass-fed or pasture-raised meat
Organic dairy from grass-fed or pastured animals

Foods to limit

Avoid processed meat, refined carbs, added sugars and sweets, and fast foods.

Some examples are bacon, bounce, sausage,
White rice, white bread, croissants, bagels
Fries, burgers, chicken nuggets milkshakes
Cookies. Candies, soda, cakes, and doughnuts.

Is it easy to follow the flexitarian diet

It’s easy to follow, the secret is not about perfection, but all about progress. You don’t have to follow any strict rules. Luckily eating out is allowed in this diet. But don’t order foods that mention crispy, fried, breaded, creamy, scalloped, or sautéed. Instead go in for baked, broiled, grilled, roasted, poached and steamed.

Flexitarian diet is flexible, easy to follow, helps you to lose weight, reduces your risk of cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. However, you need to plan and include high-quality plant-based food sources to prevent nutrition deficiencies.

If you’re interested to know more about flexitarian diet you can buy it online on RedShelf.

Note: This post contains affiliate links.

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How to Aggressively Protect Your Sanity Amidst the COVID-19 Lockdown

You are fighting an unknown enemy: the COVID-19

An enemy so small that’s invisible to your naked eye. But this microscopic virus has put many countries in lockdown, killed thousands of people, and has infected millions.

Countries, leaders, medical fraternity, and practically everyone are finding ways to control this pandemic.

And you are quarantined, wondering how you’ll pass each day?

The first few days pass on thinking about the massiveness of this problem, considering how the medical staff is putting their lives at risk for the common good.

But slowly boredom creps in, you catch up on sleep but still miss your old active lifestyle.

Your think about the rigorous exercise routine, shopping sprees, and time spent with your friends.

Now?

Everything has come to a standstill.

You start to feel depressed.

Well, this article will help you to regain your sanity and live life to the fullest, even in these challenging times.

Be grateful

Gratitude arises from your heart and senses. Research studies show that being grateful is strongly linked with greater happiness.

Gratitude helps to acknowledge the goodness in your life. In this turbulent scenario of COVID-19 lockdown, you can be grateful to have a cozy place to stay in, work from the comfort of your our own home, catch up on that much-needed sleep and spend more time with family and friends.

Above all, be grateful to be alive and healthy. When you find the time, write a gratitude journal. Send beautiful thankyou notes via email, WhatsApp, or through social media sites. Spreading positivity cheers the person behind the other screen. If possible, call your friends or family and just give a word of appreciation and without knowing you would have made their day beautiful.

Meditate to stay calm

Hearing all the scary news about the coronavirus, the rapid death tolls, the downturn of the market, the layoffs can create a lot of stress and panic, plus staying inside the four walls with restricted outside movement can cause a lot of emotional stress.

Meditation is one of the keys to regaining your sanity. Research studies say that meditation can reduce stress and also the inflammation that it causes. Practicing meditation controls anxiety, reduces inflammatory chemicals, and boosts emotional health.

This practice increases self-awareness and reduces feelings of loneliness. If you’re self-isolating, meditation may be the best antidote for loneliness. Moreover, it improves sleep, reduces pain, and helps to spread kindness- which is the need of the hour.

Explore the world of music

Music helps to relax and calms your mind and soul. Research studies say that music makes you healthier; it’s not only entertaining but also has plenty of psychological benefits as well. Also, it’s a great stress reliever.

Scientific literature points out that music impacts human stress response, particularly the autonomic nervous system. Also, it helps to recover quickly following a stressor.

A phenomenal science-backed benefit of music is that it makes you feel happier. In these stressful times, where you hear the alarming death rates of people dying due to COVID-19 pandemic, this news is reassuring to hear. Listening to positive music instead of sad rhythms could make you a happier person.

Also, music enhances endurance and performance, reduces the symptoms of depression, improves motivation, and induces restful sleep.

Say a word of prayer

Prayer improves selflessness and makes you more concerned for the greater good than just yourself. With the lockdown of all religious places, it’s wise to spend a few moments in sincere prayer connecting with the Almighty.

It’s also an excellent time to teach your kids the importance of prayer. Connecting with a higher power gives us hope that we’ll pass these turbulent waters and be on the other side of the shore safe and sound.

Prayer relieves stress, maintains a positive outlook on life, improves attitude, and helps you to recover mentally and physically from a troubling situation. In your quiet moments, it will be helpful to pray for those affected by this COVID-19 pandemic, the departed souls, their families, the medical staff who risk their lives, and ultimately the mercy of God to end this pandemic and restore life to normalcy quickly.

Cook something delicious

Have you heard the term therapeutic cooking? Experts say that cooking acts as a creative outlet and boosts your mental health. It will be a healthy distraction during this COVID-19 lockdown. Cooking helps build a new skill and constructively channelizes energy. Also, its the best way to express emotions through a different medium.

Cooking improves your quality of life. When you cook, you’re in control of what you put in your body. Always choose nutrient-dense foods. Include lots of dark green leafy veggies, oily fish, legumes, and berries; it will significantly enhance your emotional health. Instead of watching the headlines all day, try your hand at cooking and enjoy healthy foods.

Cooking boosts creativity and makes you happier. If your friend or neighbor works long hours in the hospital, especially during this pandemic, you can show your appreciation by preparing delicious home-cooked meals for them. A steaming bowl of soup or some home-baked chocolate chip cookies just lets them know you care.

Grow organic herbs

Yea, the buzz word now is green therapy. Gardening can nourish your soul and bring heath and wholesomeness to your life. Research studies proves that surrounding yourself with nature has a positive effect on your mental health. Your brain starts to secrete the happy hormone serotonin and mood-enhancing endorphins when you spend time in nature.

Whether you have lost someone dear to you or are worried about the death toll that takes place all over the world due to COVID-19 pandemic- gardening is a soothing therapy for grief. When you sow some seeds and see the new sprouts, you’re filled with a sense of hope.

Growing some greenery even if it’s in your balcony offers you some physical exercise, precious natural light, and fresh air. Get dirty, dip your hand in the mud and plant some tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and radishes and see the difference.

Pick up a new hobby

COVID-19 lockdown gives you all the time in the world to pick up a new hobby. Whether it is writing, singing, learning a new instrument, or a language, you can try and add a new feather to your cap. You can utilize this time to enhance your knowledge, sign up for some online courses, and spend your time positively in gaining experience.

A hobby fulfills your sense of purpose. Who knows it may also bring in some additional income. Since everyone is so concerned about the salary cuts and layoffs, learning a new skill boosts your self-confidence and self-esteem. Moreover, hobbies enrich your perspective, acts as a stress buster, improves your memory, keeps you physically healthy, and wards off depression.

Some great hobbies that help you fight depression include writing, photography, playing music, sculpting, drawing, painting, sewing, knitting dancing, cooking, doing yoga, and swimming.

Exercise

The best way to protect your sanity during this coronavirus lockdown is to exercise. You may be an outdoor person, would have gone for long jogs and walks. But now you’re quarantined, yet there is hope. You can do some great exercises from the comfort of your home. Practice yoga and do workouts that require no equipment.

Try a 20 minute HIIT workout, a plank based workout, full-body cardio, or a lower body workout with cardio. Find some great youtube videos and start those workouts. Indoor workouts are practically free of cost, improves mood, and fights depression. Indoor exercises like cycling burn calories, build strength, improves cardiovascular fitness, and significantly boost your mental power.

Touch base with friends and family

Though you may miss meeting your friends face to face, meeting them via technology is the next best thing to do. Just pick a phone and call your friend. Share some funny stories and have a hearty laugh. Videochat with your aged parents who may be miles away from you, always thinking about you and fearing for your safety.

Call them, encourage them, and enjoy some blissful family moments. Limit about the troubling scenario that’s gripping the nations. Try Google Hangouts, Zoom or WhatsApp. Start an online book club. Select new ebooks and set a date to discuss them with your friends.

Call your colleagues who have suffered job loss or are staying alone and enquire their safety and welfare. Who knows you may be their only source of hope. You can also send ecards to your friends and family. They’ll love this gesture, and it may even create a ripple effect.

Enjoy a cheat day

Amidst all these noises, heart yourself, think, and enjoy a cheat day. An occasional indulgence may boost your emotional health. Order in your favorite pizza or burger and enjoy eating it watching your favorite movie. Enjoy a cheeseburger, sugary cocktail, or a huge piece of double chocolate cake.

Be mindful and relish what you’re eating, stay hydrated. Cheating often may derail your dietary efforts, so enjoy a cheat meal rarely. Practice moderation; junk food is not filling, so include lots of salads and green vegetables. Bounce back and go back to your eating regimen the next day.

You can do this

Take one day at a time. Believe every day is a gift, spread positivity, kindness, and take good care of yourself. Soon everything would be normal-the world would be free of COVID-19 pandemic. And in the mean time you would have not only preserved your sanity but would’ve also gained much knowledge to live a healthier and a happier life.

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The Life-Changing Benefits of Taking Collagen Supplements

Are you worried about your wrinkles and sagging skin? And what about the worn cartilage which causes you joint pain?

The answer is pretty simple. Collagen is your mantra to stay fit and look young.

Supplementing your diet with collagen can help you to live a healthy and active life. What’s more, it will even nourish your skin and make it look plump and youthful.

So basically, what is collagen?

Collagen is a protein that supports the structural component of connective tissues. It’s responsible for skin elasticity and plays a role in joint and bone health as well. Naturally, your body can produce this protein but as you age, the production of this protein slows down.

As a result, your skin loses its ability to bounce back. And soon, wrinkles begin to form. If you’re worried about wrinkles and want smooth, wrinkle-free skin, then collagen supplements are your best choice.

Nowadays, hydrolyzed versions of this protein supplement are becoming popular. Here the collagen is broken down to peptides making it easier for you to absorb.

Want to go the natural route? No problem! You can obtain it naturally from bone broth. Or else, avail it in the form of capsules, tablets, and powders. Be known, these supplements are even available online.

Benefits

Collagen has a host of health benefits. It keeps you looking young, increases muscle mass, improves joint health, and prevents bone loss. Having a thorough knowledge of this protein will significantly enhance your well being.

Skin health

Collagen makes you look young by increasing the hydration of your skin, reducing fine lines and wrinkles and makes your skin plump by increasing its elasticity.

A research study says that some participants drank a mixture containing collagen, vitamins, minerals, and hyaluronic acid while the others drank a placebo. In comparison with women in the control group, the women who drank the nutrient mixture reported reduction in the depth of their wrinkles, and improvement in their skin’s hydration, and elasticity.

Collagen supplements stimulate your body to produce this nutrient on its own. Many people claim that taking these supplements prevents acne formation and other skin conditions. However, this claim is not proved by research.

Increased muscle mass

Collagen is necessary to keep your muscles healthy and to function properly. In a research study, 25 frail-looking men consumed collagen for 12 weeks while participating in an exercise program. When they were compared with the control group, the men who consumed collagen gained more muscle mass and strength.

Collagen may boost the synthesis of muscle protein creatine to increase muscle mass and also boosts muscle growth after exercise.

Improved joint health

This wonder protein helps to prevent the deterioration of joints in your cartilage. When you get older, collagen production gets reduced, and there are high chances that you may develop osteoarthritis.

A study found that 73 athletes who ate collagen daily felt that their knee pain reduced to a great extent while walking compared to the rest of the group.

Researchers theorize that supplemental collagen gets accumulated in your cartilage and stimulates the tissues to produce collagen. As a result, there is lower inflammation and improved support for your joints. So you’re free from joint pain.

Bone loss prevention

Collagen structures your bones and keeps them healthy. As your body ages this protein production gets reduced and so does your bone mass. This results in a condition known as osteoporosis, which leads to low bone density and high rate of bone fractures.

In a research study, 66 women took 5 grams of collagen daily for a year. They had a 7 percent increase in their bone mineral density compared to women who did not supplement this protein.

How to enhance the natural production

The body makes this protein by combining amino acids. You can obtain amino acids from protein-rich foods such as chicken, beef, fish, eggs, beans, and dairy products. The process requires zinc, copper, and vitamin C, as well. As you age, your body loses its efficiency to absorb nutrients. So it would be best if you include protein rich foods or include dietary supplements.

Best collagen-boosting foods

To naturally increase the production of this protein, include bone broth along with healthy servings of proteins, vitamins, and mineral-rich foods. It’s always better to buy organic bone broth or make it only from the bones of organically raised animals.

Adding a supplement is another great way to boost its levels. Hydrolyzed collagen powder has no flavor, and it easily dissolves in soups, smoothies, and beverages. Always check with your doctor before you add supplements.

As for your skin, which is the largest organ in the body, you can apply a cream with synthetic collagen. It adds a film like a layer to your surface and protects it from environmental elements. But it may not be the same as healthy eating. Nourishing your body with healthy foods is a great way to gain collagen.

Are there any side effects

This protein supplement is generally safe. But, take this supplement as per the advice of a health care professional. Usually, the side effects include diarrhea, rashes, and a feeling of heaviness in the stomach. Otherwise, for most people taking these supplements does not pose any side effects.

Are these supplements vegan friendly

Most manufacturers make these supplements using bones and proteins of animals. However, vegan options are available online. This protein supplement is essential for those following a keto diet. Look for collagen supplements that mainly support the keto diet.

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Top Health Conditions That Affect Millennials – And How to Treat Them Naturally

As a millennial, you may be busy juggling your family, career, and other commitments, but may forget about your behavioral wellness. It seems millennials are affected by problems relating to behavioral health. Behavioral wellness helps to improve your self-awareness, make healthy choices, and achieve proper balance in all areas of your life.

Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) says millennials may become less healthy as they age. Millennials are those born between 1981 to 1996. Although they may seem to have a more excellent investment in health and wellness than generations before them, they seem to be less healthy as they age.

The research points out that they have a double-digit increase in the top 10 health conditions. Sadly they are affected mostly by behavioral health conditions with numbers skyrocketing in depression and hyperactivity.

So here are the top 10 conditions affecting the millennials.

Depression

Substance use disorder

Alcohol use disorder

Hypertension

Hyperactivity

Psychotic conditions

Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis

High cholesterol

Tobacco use disorder

Type 2 diabetes

Deborah Serani, PsyD, professor at Adelphi University and award-winning author of “Living with Depression,” explains in Healthline that the circumstances that millennials grew up may be the culprit.

Things such as technological advances, media overload, the school of thought that everyone wins, the two-income households, and undefined work schedules may have contributed to this scenario.

If you’re suffering from any of these conditions, visit your doctor immediately. Also, you can improve the quality of your life by making suitable lifestyle changes. Let’s see how we can treat most of these conditions naturally.

How to treat depression naturally?

Depression can thwart you away from your routine, so set up a timetable and follow a method. Set goals for yourself even though it’s minimal because depression increases a sense of worthlessness and makes you wander without a purpose.

One of the best ways to treat depression naturally is through exercise. Exercise releases the feel-good chemicals endorphins and rewires your brain in positive ways.

Foods also play a positive role in reducing depression. Foods such as salmon and tuna are rich in omega 3 fatty acids.

Folic acid, rich foods, such as spinach and avocadoes, are also beneficial. All these foods help to fight depression and boost your brain health.

Other helpful ways include rest and taking on challenges. Try to get enough sleep. Take on new responsibilities. When you’re depressed, you’ll want to shrink back from what life has to offer you.

Staying involved will give you a sense of accomplishment. Try to do something new, such as visiting a museum, volunteering or participating in a race, etc. It will increase the secretion of dopamine, which improves enjoyment, pleasure, and learning.

Schedule some time to do things that you enjoy. It may be cooking, gardening, or anything, just relax and have fun.

How to treat alcohol use disorder naturally?

Alcohol use disorder is not easy to control; just only by your will power. It’s a brain disease that makes changes to your brain, and leaving it becomes dangerous. To overcome it, get professional advice from your doctor. Give a complete detox to your body to remove alcohol from your system and allow it to heal naturally.

Get the advice of a counselor or therapist. Build a reliable support system, manage your stress. Set goals and try to achieve them. Work on the behaviors that trigger you to drink alcohol. You can go in for focus counseling or one on one therapy session.

Join a group therapy or a support group. The people you meet there will thoroughly understand your problems, and you’ll find people whom you can relate to.

Recovery can take a long time. If the disorder relapse, never feel that you’ve failed. Visit your doctor, and continue to take steps to fight it, surely you will-just give yourself some time.

How to treat substance use disorder naturally?

Developing an addiction is not a sign of weakness, but it takes more than will power to overcome it. Decide you want to change. Keep track of the drug use.

Addiction treatment options include detoxification, behavioral counseling, medication, long term follow up, or medical treatment. Whatever treatment options you chose first involve yourself in a sober social network, build up a support system of friends and family.

Keep your drug triggers and cravings in check. Move away from friends who use it, avoid clubs and bars, and practice caution while taking prescription drugs.

Distract yourself by involving in a creative hobby. When you experience a craving, remember all the negative consequences of drugs.

Build a meaningful life by enjoying nature, adopting a pet, getting involved in community activities, setting a goal, looking after your health, and enjoying arts.

How to treat hypertension naturally?

Hypertension can increase your risk of heart disease and stroke. You can lower your blood pressure even without medication. Exercise or walk regularly, reduce your sodium intake, include potassium-rich foods in your diet.

Reduce your alcohol intake, cut back on caffeine, reduce your stress levels, and eat dark chocolate. They are rich in flavonoids; they’ll dilate blood vessels, thus boosting blood flow and lowering blood pressure.

Reduce your weight, quit smoking, cut back on added sugar and refined carbohydrates. Practice meditation and deep breathing, eat a lot of berries, and include calcium-rich foods in your diet.

Natural supplements like aged garlic extract, whey protein, berberine, hibiscus, and fish oil can also prove beneficial. Adding magnesium-rich foods to your diet relaxes and lowers blood pressure.

How to treat hyperactivity naturally?

Medications for hyperactivity has been increased in recent years. These medications may cause side effects, but alternative therapies can be a good option. Here are some natural ways you can control the symptoms of ADHD.

Forego preservatives and food colorings. Avoiding potential allergens may improve the behavior of ADHD. So cut back chemical additives and preservatives such as BHT, milk and eggs, chocolates, and foods containing salicylate.

Join a yoga or taichi class. Research has shown that yoga has brought about significant improvements in anxiety, hyperactivity, and social problems in boys having ADHD.

Spend some time outside in nature, just 20 minutes of breathing in the fresh air, enjoying the greenery, and being with nature can improve concentration significantly.

Behavioral therapy also gives good results. Likewise, treatment with supplements forms significant alternative treatment. Supplements such as L-carnitine, vitamin B6, zinc, and magnesium prove useful. Also, you can try herbs like ginseng, ginkgo, and passionflower to calm hyperactivity.

However, supplementation can be dangerous without a doctor’s guidance, seek medical assistance before supplementation with nutrients or herbs.

How to treat Crohn’s disease and ulcerative disease naturally?

Pay attention to your diet. Beware of gluten foods such as bread, pasta, and sauces. Avoid spicy and fried foods and dairy. Include fiber-rich foods in your diet.

Probiotics help to improve your symptoms of digestion. So include probiotic foods such as kombucha, yogurt, kimchi, kefir, miso, pickles, tofu, and sauerkraut.

Prebiotics act as a healthy fertilizer and help in the growth of good bacteria. Including sources such as banana, asparagus, legumes, chicory root, dandelion greens, and Jerusalem artichokes helps to stimulate the growth of good bacteria.

Go slow with prebiotics; if you’re experiencing any flareups. The fiber present in prebiotoics may worsen the condition. Include anti-inflammatory foods such as green leafy veggies, virgin olive oil, fatty fish, and fruits.

Some helpful herbs to include are aloe vera juice, slippery elm bark, turmeric, and glutamine. If you have a flareup, give your body time to heal.

Take a liquid diet and provide some rest for your bowl. Get some extra sleep, minimize stress, avoid intense exercise, and take adequate naps.

Avoid large portions and eat smaller meals to put less stress on your digestive system. Drink lots of water to avoid dehydration, especially if you had a bout of diarrhea. Also, add electrolyte based fluids such as coconut water or broth. Steer clear of sweetened beverages and carbonated drinks.

How to treat high cholesterol naturally?

High cholesterol is a significant risk factor for heart disease. A healthy lifestyle helps to manage your blood cholesterol effectively. To control cholesterol naturally, quit smoking, try to reduce weight, and exercise daily.

Include foods that are rich in fiber and omega 3 fatty acids. Avoid foods that are high in saturated fats. Eliminate stress, drink alcohol in moderation, and avoid trans fats at all costs.

Natural remedies for high cholesterol include Astralagus, hawthorn, flaxseed, fish rich in omega 3 fatty acids, garlic red yeast rice, and plant sterol and stanol supplements. Consult your doctor before taking any supplements.

How to treat tobacco use disorder naturally?

Watch out for cravings; they usually last less than five minutes. During those times, keep your hands busy, go for a walk, do the dishes, or have a healthy snack.

Exercise regularly, join a support group, eat regular healthy meals, identify your triggers such as people, places, or situations, and stay away from them.

Alternative medicine treatments such as acupuncture, hypnosis, meditation, and herbs such as St. John’s wort and supplements such as the dietary supplements SAMe, silver acetate can prove beneficial.

To stay smoke-free, practice positive self-talk, remain motivated, and don’t get discouraged even if you slip. Identify your primary smoking triggers and seek support. Similarly, set smoke-free boundaries, avoid alcohol, review the benefits you’re getting from being smoke-free and reward yourself.

How to treat type 2 diabetes naturally?

Alternative treatments can be beneficial, but some may be harmful. Always talk to your doctor before you try any remedy.

Acupuncture, biofeedback, guided imagery are beneficial alternative treatments to treat diabetes.

Natural supplements like chromium, magnesium, vanadium, Coenzyme Q10 are helpful. Herbs such as ginseng have a sugar-lowering compound that may be useful.

People with type 2 diabetes may concentrate on buckwheat, brewers yeast, broccoli, and other greens, cloves, cinnamon, coffee, okra, sage, fenugreek greens, and sage.

Improve your diet, with fresh or frozen veggies, whole grains, lean meats, beans, and low fat or fat-free dairy. Eat nonstarchy vegetables like carrots, broccoli, and lettuce.

Avoid high glycemic index foods; they are usually processed foods. Likewise, limit fast foods and focus on healthy snacks.

Reduce especially your belly fat to help lower your glucose levels.

Exercise regularly; the more intense you exercise, the better; instead of jogging, you could do high-intensity interval training. Also, control sleep apnea to manage sugar spikes and dips.

Reduce stress by practicing yoga and deep breathing before going to bed. Maintain a slightly cold temperature in your sleep environment. Block out all sound and noise and establish a sleep schedule.

Discussed in this post are mostly lifestyle modifications; you must get medical treatment and supplement lifestyle changes to lead a healthy, optimistic, and happy life.

How Digital Marketing Can Help Grow Your Healthcare Business

Digital marketing is big; In the present world, it plays a vital role to help expand your business. Say if you’re in the healthcare industry and want to transform your business from traditional marketing to digital marketing, its best you know all about digital marketing.

Digital marketing offers loads of advantages, such as finding new markets and trading globally with little investment, lowered costs than traditional marketing methods, and obtaining detailed information about customer behavior.

Likewise, it allows you to personalize your marketing strategy and greet your customers with targeted offers; with the help of social media, you can build customer loyalty and earn a reputation of being easy to engage with.

Also, you can gain social currency using engaging content marketing tactics. Unlike traditional marketing, digital marketing can be immediate and seamless, resulting in improved conversion rates. As a competitive healthcare business owner, you will want to adopt these practices to expand your business.

To help you out, we’ve discussed the various types of digital marketing. The lines may blur between multiple options, but this post gives you a clear idea of the kind of menu to choose from. So let’s get started.

What is digital marketing

The term was first popularized in the 2000s and took the world by storm. Digital marketing is any form of marketing of products or services using the electronic medium–that includes mobile phones, the internet, or any other digital medium.

Businesses use digital channels such as social media, search engines, email, and their websites to connect with prospective customers.

Digital marketing is essential for your business or brand awareness. Nowadays, every brand has a website, or at least they have a digital strategy or social media presence. Consumers expect digital and content marketing as a way to learn about brands.

Different types of online marketing

Best digital marketers have a clear picture of how each digital marketing campaign supports their business goals. Depending on the goals of their marketing strategy, they support massive campaigns through free and paid channels at their disposal.

#1. Content marketing

Creating and promoting content assets to generate brand awareness, lead generation, traffic growth, and customers is known as content marketing. The critical parts of the content marketing strategy include blog posts, ebooks, white papers, and infographics.

Blog posts: Publishing articles about your company shows your industry expertise and generates organic leads as well. This practice increases your website visitors and changes them into customers for your sales team.

Ebooks and white papers: These types of long-form content helps you to educate your visitors and obtains their contact information for the content in return. It helps to generate leads for your company and moves them through their buyers’ journey.

Infographics: Its the visual form of content that helps your visitors to visualize content.

Content marketing is not a buzzword but a necessity in the digital marketing landscape. Content marketing increases content on your site, luring customers to stick around. It helps them build trust and to familiarize themselves with your brand.

It also increases your domain authority, improves search engine visibility, provides more referrals and social media traffic. Likewise, you enjoy increased conversion potential, improved brand reputation, decreased marketing costs, and compounding value.

#2. Search engine optimization

SEO stands for search engine optimization. It helps to increase both the quality and quantity of web traffic. Likewise, it gives exposure to your brand through organic search engine results.

Search engine optimization is all about what people are searching online, the words they’re using, the answers they seek, and the type of content they’re eager to know. Once you know the answers to these questions, you can connect with the people searching online for the solutions you offer.

Knowing the intent of your audience is just one side of the coin. Delivering quality content so that the search engine crawlers find and understand it to deliver your content to the masses is the other side of the coin.

SEO is essential because search engines provide the majority of online traffic. Organic search results appear more credible to searchers; they cover more digital real estate and get many more clicks than paid advertisements.

Search engine optimization is the only digital marketing channel when properly set up can pay rich dividends over time. Providing high-quality content with the right keywords helps your traffic to snowball over time, whereas paid advertising needs continuous funding to send traffic to your site.

#3. Email marketing

In the most basic sense, email marketing is using emails to promote your products and services. This form of marketing develops a healthy relationship with your customer or clients. It helps you to target particular groups of customers.

For example, a restaurant might send personalized emails to customers celebrating birthdays offering a 50 percent discount. This practice helps the business to develop a relationship with the customer, resulting in customer loyalty and increased sales.

The main advantages of email marketing are its cost and flexibility. Compared to other forms of marketing, emailing is relatively inexpensive to advertise your business, products, or services. Setting up and tracking an email marketing campaign is extremely easy; It’s most suitable for small businesses.

You can also set up a newsletter option for your website and send newsletters to your subscribers. Regularly sending newsletters helps to effectively communicate any updates about your business, special offers, and any upcoming events. You can also set up automated promotional emails to customers who haven’t bought your products recently.

#4. Social media marketing

This type of marketing promotes your brand on social media channels, increasing brand awareness, generating leads for your business, and driving traffic. Channels you can use in social media marketing are as follows.

Facebook
Linkedin
Twitter
Snapchat
Instagram
Pinterest

Content writing plays a vital role while promoting your business on social media. Social media sites act as word of mouth. These sites rely on virtual communities. Social networks like Facebook and Twitter can help you provide information about the likes and dislikes of the customers. So you can easily zoom in your target audience.

The five core pillars of social media marketing include

Strategy
Planning and publishing
Listening and engagement
Analytics and reporting
Advertising.

Before you dive and publish something, check out your goals, the type of social media platforms you have to focus on, and the type of content you want to share.

About three billion people use social media. Publishing great content helps you to maximize your reach on social media.

#5. Influencer marketing

Influencer marketing is an established form of online marketing- a hybrid of old and new marketing practices. It takes a leaf out of celebrity endorsements and combines it with content-driven marketing campaigns. The collaboration is between the brands and the influencers.

So who is an influencer? An influencer is a person who can affect the purchase of others because of her knowledge, position, authority, and relationship with her audience. She has a following in a distinct niche where she actively engages with people.

Influencer marketing involves a brand collaborating with an influencer to market its products and services. Influencers have a large following on the web and social media.

Say an influencer may be a famous fashion photographer on Instagram or a blogger of health and wellness having a large Facebook following. These people have a reputation for being experts in their fields. They answer people’s questions, share the best pictures and entertaining online videos, and carry on most informative online discussions.

Having a plan, a budget as well as spending time on research will help you to benefit from influencer marketing. Next, decide on your approach to finding freelancers. You can find them organically, subscribe to a platform, or work with them through an agency.

Influencer marketing is not about the quickest result; instead, its a slow, steady approach similar to content marketing and social media marketing. It’s about showing your authority, credibility, and thought leadership within your industry.

#6. Mobile marketing

Mobile marketing is a type of digital marketing that aims to target tablets, smartphones, or other mobile devices through email, website, SMS, MMS, apps, and social media.

Everything that’s done on a desktop computer is now available on mobile as well. From visiting sites to reading emails, everything can be done through the small mobile screen.

Being mobile-friendly is a must these days. Google’s mobile-friendly ranking factor as well as the increase in mobile traffic emphasize that your site must adapt to mobile marketing to stay competitive.

To effectively use mobile marketing, you must understand your mobile audience and design content, keeping them in mind. Likewise, you must make strategic use of MMS/SMS marketing and apps. Buyer personas are an essential tool to help in that understanding.

After having a clear idea about your audience proceed to set goals and establish KPIs (key performance indicators). Make sure you deliver mobile-friendly content with a clear call to action and monitor mobile metrics.

#7. Display advertising

It refers to advertising a service or a product through images and videos on the publisher websites such as Facebook and Google display network. The ads are placed related to third party sites in the form of images, banners, and text ads. Basically display advertising is categorized into three categories.

Site placement advertising: Here, a marketer chooses a website that they would like to place their advertisements on.

Contextual advertising: Display advertising networks place advertisements on relevant sites in the contextual form of advertising.

Remarketing: Display ads appear in front of users who visited your website but have left without completing the purchase.

Display ads present you with an opportunity to showcase your products on a wide variety of ad formats. When you display your ads on platforms like Google Display Network, the ads can reach potential customers on millions of websites around the globe.

Display advertising is an excellent channel to build brand awareness, get clicks, conversions, and sales from users who may not have heard about your business but have found you through display ads––because you’re offering the solution they are searching for.

#8. Affiliate marketing

Affiliate marketing is a method of promoting other people’s products or services and earning a commission. The pattern proceeds like this––you find a product you like, promote it, and make a profit for each sale you bring in. Affiliate marketing is beneficial both to the brands and affiliates. It works best when different parties get involved.

Seller and product creators
The affiliate or advertiser
Consumer

The seller or product creator is a merchant with a product to market. The product can be household goods or services. The affiliate publisher promotes the product persuading consumers that the product is valuable or beneficial to them. If the customer buys the product, the affiliate receives a portion of the revenue.

Likewise, the affiliate may get paid in different ways it may be pay per sale, pay per lead and pay per click.

The benefits of affiliate marketing for businesses include targeted traffic, pay per performance and sales, low risk, and limited start-up costs. Likewise, it boosts brand awareness growth, increased SEO, access to foreign markets, develop valuable partnerships, a good return on investment, and a large pool of affiliate marketers.

Take away message

In conclusion, digitalizing your business helps you to reap fruitful results. If you try to follow all the steps at once, you might feel overwhelmed. Take one action at a time and see your healthcare business reach greater heights.

What Successful Bloggers Know About Cloudways (That You Don’t)

Do you own a blog and is confused about which hosting provider to choose?

Your blog may be your source of income, and you don’t want your blog to suffer downtime.

Or you may not understand the complexity of managing your servers.

Whatever be the case, Cloudways is here to solve your problems.

So you can devote more time to the object of your love- your blog and massively grow your business.

User-friendly platform

If you know all the technical stuff about blogging, then well and good, otherwise, you’d be wasting your precious and limited time on confusing details. Alternatively, if you spend your time growing your blog, enhancing your writing, and taking new courses to expand your area of knowledge, then it would benefit you. Here’s where Cloudways steps in its platform is user-friendly, and most of your tasks can be done in a single click.

Faster page loads

The faster your site loads, the lower your bounce rate. If your site is faster, you have a high chance of ranking in Google compared with the slow sites. Your page speed also affects your conversion rate. Cloudways ensures speedier page loads, so your readers enjoy a quick service.

Automatic backups

Think and see it will be a nightmare if you lose all your data, years of hard work within a few moments. This is where automatic backups step in. Automatic backups give you peace of mind and save cost and time. Also, recovery from an online backup is easy. With automatic backups, you can sync data on different devices, enjoy enhanced security and data versioning.

Cloudways provides daily, weekly, monthly backups of your blog posts. This ensures your data is in safe hands and wholly protected. Also, you can save time and money using Cloudways backup services.

Excellent security

An unsecured blog is the biggest nightmare of every blogger. Managed security by Cloudways gives you superior protection, cost savings, and advanced technology. So you can focus on your business.

Cloudways secures your blog by providing a free SSL certificate. Also, you can use HTTP/2 to give prime protection to your data. Cloudways has a pre-installed malware detection system that updates the latest security versions from time to time.

Prevents blog crashes

Due to unexpected high volume of traffic, sometimes blogs get crashed down. Chances are you might have experienced this problem. The infrastructure by the hosting provider does not scale up, and this may cause your blog to shut down.

Alternatively, Cloudways promises scalable infrastructures. As a result, your blog scale up your server resources and avoids crashing down or suffer technical glitches. Kyup- The Cloudways container-based auto-scalable infrastructure removes your stress regarding a spike in website traffic.

Try Cloudways

Cloudways would be the best thing that you would have ever done to your blog. It offers unmatched managed hosting. Also, the Cloudways servers ensure security, scalability, and speed so you can grow your blog without any glitches.

The benefits do not end there

It offers a one-click installation, and your blog goes live in minutes. Cloudways offers ironclad security, speed, and smoother scalability. And the best part is it’s affordable.

Some of the critical features of Cloudways hosting for bloggers include

Pay for what you use. You don’t need to worry about long term contracts.

Dedicated support round the clock

Free SSL certificate

Optimized speed and performance

Managed backups.

So what are you waiting for

Join Cloudways affiliate program

Get Started Free with Managed WordPress Hosting – Signup Now

If you’re a blogger and looking for a profitable affiliate program, then your search ends here. This affiliate program has all the features you’ve ever wanted in an affiliate program. You are free to earn as much as you can because the program has no contract limitations. Join the Cloudways affiliate program or try their hosting, and you’ll be glad you did.

Note: This post contains affiliate links.

Electric Sit Stand Desk: 6 Phenomenal Health Benefits

One of the most significant threats of our modern lifestyle is being desk-bound. The medical fraternity terms this as the sitting disease. A sedentary lifestyle actively promotes a higher risk for diabetes, metabolic syndrome, heart disease, and early death. Accessorizing office space with the electric sit stand desk favors human biomechanics and significantly boosts employee performance and wellness.

What is electric sit stand desk

It’s a height-adjustable free standing desk that shifts its position up or down with the help of two electric motors. A simple control panel mounted under the desk surface helps to control its movement. These ergonomic moving desks help you find your ideal height with ease and have superb features to make your workday a breeze.

The electrical adjustment helps to raise and lower these desks much smoothly than manual options. Likewise, its anti-collision feature senses other objects and stops moving — a great addition to people with kids or pets that might come into their workspace.

The preset memory options allow you to program a preset button to your configured height-so the desk adjusts automatically to the set position. Likewise, the other unique features include the dual motor and the crossbar.

A crossbar provides optimal balance preventing wobbling and shaking. Dual motors offer better stability, more weight-bearing capacity, and low noise levels while working, allowing you to enjoy your work experience.

Health benefits of height adjustable standing desk

Tweaking your sedentary lifestyle a little can bring life-changing benefits. Working in an environment that supports your biomechanics significantly enhances your wellbeing. Ergonomically produced standing desks boost your creativity, protect your posture, and keeps you healthy and productive.

Boost productivity

Sedentary behavior kills productivity. Mind-body connection plays a crucial part in optimizing performance. The American Medical Association recommends that companies must offer sitting alternatives such as sit-stand work stations. Using such modern workspaces encourages movement while improving office culture and health. Such modern amenities help companies to attract and retain top talent – all the while enhancing productivity.

Lengthens your life

Standing more often can lengthen your lifespan. Research studies show a definitive link between increased sitting time and early death. A research study found that lowering your sitting time raises life expectancy by two years.

The electric sit stand desk gives the employees the ability to sit and stand throughout the day with severe positive health implications. Prolonged sitting increases the risk of diabetes, heart disease, and early death; a sit-stand workstation encourages movement and increases lifespan.

Reduce back pain

Chronic back pain leads to severe emotional issues. Anger, depression, mood swings, and anxiety are some psychological aftereffects of acute pain. Because of hectic schedules, office workers usually complain of back pain. Experts have carried various research studies to find out whether standing desks could improve this condition.

A study published by the CDC says that using sit-stand desks reduced upper neck and back pain by 54 percent in just four weeks. Removal of sit, stand desks reversed these positive health effects within two weeks.

Lowers risk of weight gain

Taking in more calories while burning fewer results in weight gain. Conversely, taking in fewer calories and burning more results in weight loss. Standing for three additional hours each day for a year helps you to burn up to eight pounds of fat and 30,000 extra calories. This vast sum is equivalent to running ten marathons. Choosing to stand instead of sitting can prevent weight gain.

A University of Iowa research study states employees using sit-stand desks stood 1 hour more per day than their sitting desk counterparts. Also, they burned 87 calories more per day than people who use sitting desks.

Improves mood and energy levels

The adjustable height desk has a positive effect on your health and wellness. Moving your body breaks down the negative vibes of sedentary behavior and increases blood circulation. So the blood gushes through your system, bringing fresh oxygen, increasing energy levels, and releasing mood-enhancing chemicals. Reducing sedentary behavior and increasing movement promotes enthusiasm, motivation, and morale among employees.

Enhances brain power

Even a few minutes of sitting negatively impacts blood flow. It slows down circulation and increases the risk of blood clots. Conversely, standing increases blood flow and oxygen to the brain and facilitates the creation of new brain cells, enhancing brainpower. Sit-stand workstations break the monotony of seated work and boost concentration and promote greater on-task engagement.

Employee wellness a bonus

While it’s a well-documented fact that getting moderate amounts of physical activity promotes personal wellness, little thought is being given to encourage movement in most working environments. So employees have no choice but to sit at their desk all day.

The efficient way to address this problem is to introduce sit-stand workstations. These height-adjustable standing desks are must-have modern office furniture. They optimize productivity, increase concentration, boost team spirit, and above all, produce ample health benefits.

Investing in height adjustable standing desks would be the best investment you’ll be making to encourage employee wellness because of which your company grows by leaps and bounds.