Category: Health and wellness

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Health and wellness

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.

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fitness Health and wellness health benefits obesity

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.

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depression Health and wellness heart health Skin health

What is the ​Sauna​ Bath? Health Benefits and Safety Tips

A sauna can be said as part of Finnish history because the oldest known saunas were found in Finland. People dug pits inside the slopes and used it as a dwelling place in winter. 

The sauna contained a fireplace where the stones were heated at a high temperature. Water was poured on these stones to produce steam. As a result, the surrounding temperature increased, causing people to sweat. As the Finns migrated to different parts of the globe, they took this practice with them.

Similarly, the Koreans too practiced this culture, but theirs was known as hanjeungmak. It was famed for its health benefits. Accordingly, in the early fifteenth century, Buddhist monks had hanjeungmak clinics where they treated sick people. 

What is a sauna bath?

A sauna is a room that is heated to a temperature between 65°C to 90°C. These rooms have wooden interiors, are not painted, and have temperature controls. 

As part of their heating element, it may contain rocks that absorb and gives off heat. Pouring water on these rocks gives off steam. The high heat and the steam opens up your skin pores and make you sweat. After your final round, take a refreshing bath to close the pores of your skin. 

Benefits of a sauna bath

Sauna relaxes your body and mind. This process transitions between hot and cold. Relaxing in a scented hot sauna may be the best part of your gym workout or during your vacation. Saunas provide health benefits whether you enjoy it weekly or once a year.

Improves cardiovascular performance

Bathers say that they feel stress-free after a relaxing bath. Stress harms your body; likewise, stress aggravates many heart diseases. Relaxing in a warm, quiet sauna soothes your muscles, stimulates the feel-good hormones, and significantly improves circulation. Sweating induced by the heat and steam is highly beneficial for people with COPD, congestive heart failure, and peripheral arterial disease. 

Flushes toxins

A sauna is one of the best ways to detoxify your body. The heat increases your core body temperature. As a result, blood vessels dilate, causing increased blood flow. Soon your body starts to sweat. Deep sweating has multiple health benefits. It flushes away the toxins that your body absorbs when interacting with your daily environment.

Reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s disease

A 20-year research study by the University of Eastern Finland with more than 2,300 participants found that regular sauna use for at least 4 to 7 times a week for about 19 minutes reduced the risk of Alzheimer’s and Dementia.

Fights illness

A relaxing hot bath is helpful for muscle recovery after sports — also, sauna bathing help to reduce the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis. 

Sauna safety tips

Saunas may not be for everyone. Consult your doctor before using a sauna if you have diabetes, uncontrolled high blood pressure, abnormal heart rhythm, heart failure, or unstable angina. Limit your usage to just 5 minutes per visit if you have these health conditions. 

Likewise, cool down your body slowly. Avoid using a sauna if you take medicines that interfere with your body’s ability to regulate temperature or medications that make you drowsy.

To avoid dehydration, drink a glass of water before you enter a sauna. Avoid alcohol and recreational drugs before, during, and after use. Never let yourself fall asleep in a sauna. Never sit in it for more than 10 to 15 minutes. 

If you’re new, then try to sit for only 5 to 10 minutes and allow your body to build up a tolerance for heat over multiple visits. 

The Finnish tradition asks you to take a plunge in cold water after your sauna experience. This practice may not be suitable for you if you’re pregnant or have heart or other health conditions. Immediately exit the sauna if you’re dizzy or feeling ill.

 Be careful while using a sauna if you’re pregnant or planning for motherhood. To be on the safer side, check with your doctor. The National Health Service warns that overheated sauna may be dangerous for mother and the child.

Hot tub safety

Hot tub temperatures must be between 100° and 104° F. A research study on 21 people who had hypertension found that sitting in a hot tub reduced blood pressure, but it never approached unsafe levels. Another study of 15 men with stable coronary artery disease showed that spending 15 minutes on a hot tub produced less circulatory stress than 15 minutes on a stationary bike.

To be on the safer side, follow the guidelines provided when you’re in the hot tub. Make sure the hot tub is clean and well chlorinated. A dirty hot tub can cause folliculitis-a skin infection resulting from a poorly maintained hot tub.

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Health and wellness health benefits

What is Ashwagandha? Health Benefits and How to Use it

Ashwagandha

“ashwagandha seedpods”by naturalflow is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

Ashwagandha has seemingly endless benefits. When used rightly, it does not produce any side effects. This medicinal herb is a favorite among herbalists because its benefits span different conditions and diseases while impacting many lives daily.

What is Ashwagadha

Ashwagandha or Indian ginseng is a popular medicinal herb in Ayurvedic medicine. The Sanskrit word ashwagandha means the “smell of a horse,” indicating this herb can impart strength like a stallion. The root of ashwagandha has a scent similar to horse sweat.

Native to the dry regions of India, the Middle East, and Northern Africa, this herb is also grown in more milder climates, including the U.S.

Indian medics have been using this herb for over 5000 years to treat conditions like insomnia, rheumatism, constipation, stress, goiter, hormone imbalance, and more.

This herb can lower your cholesterol levels, blood sugar levels, boost brain function, and chases away depression.

Health Benefits

This ancient herb has many health benefits up its sleeve. Here are a few of them.

Reduce blood sugar levels

High blood sugar levels for more extended periods can damage blood vessels, can cause heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, nerve, and vision problems.

Luckily Ashwagandha helps to solve these problems naturally. Studies have found that it improves insulin secretion and sensitivity.

Confirmed research studies show that Ashwagandha effectively reduces blood sugar levels in both healthy people and diabetics alike.

In a small study of six people with type 2 diabetes, supplementation with Ashwagandha for 30 days resulted in an effective reduction of blood sugar levels. Its effect was similar to that of oral diabetes medicines.

Reduces cortisol levels

Ashwagandha reduces cortisol levels and soothes anxiety symptoms. Increased cortisol levels can lead to more fat storage in the abdomen region as well as result in elevated blood sugar levels. 

A research study shows that supplementation of Ashwagandha to persons suffering from stress reduced cortisol levels significantly when compared to the control group. Those taking the highest dosage had a 30 percent reduction on average.

Boost heart health

This ancient herbal medicine helps to treat high cholesterol, high blood pressure, chest pain, and heart disease. A research study published in the International Journal of Ayurvedic Research states that ashwagandha along with another herb increases heart muscle strength and endurance.

Increase muscle mass and strength

Are you into fitness? Then Ashwagandha might help you increase muscle mass. A study points out that healthy men who ate 750-1250 mg of powdered ashwagandha root developed muscle strength after 30 days. 

Another study points out that people who took this herb enjoyed greater muscle strength and increased muscle size. Additionally, there was a reduction in more than double the percentage in body fat compared to the placebo group. 

Has anti-cancer properties

Ashwagandha may help to treat several types of cancer, such as lung, breast, colon, ovarian, and brain cancers. Although there are no human trials, animal studies give us more encouraging results. 

Several research studies say that Ashwagandha not only induces programmed death of cancer cells but also stops the growth of new cancer cells in various ways. It works by starting the formation of reactive oxygen species inside cells disrupting their function.

Secondly, it causes cancer cells to become less resistant to programmed death. 

Boosts brain function 

Studies show that Ashwagandha is effective in boosting memory and brain function. Experts say that Ashwagandha has been shown to slow, reverse, or stop the inflammation seen in brain degeneration. 

Moreover, it improves sleep and reduces anxiety. Thus boosting memory and brain function. Research has shown that it protects nerve cells from free radical activity by promoting antioxidant activity. 

In a controlled study, men who took 500 mg of standardized Ashwagandha extract reported significant improvements in task performance and reaction time in comparison to their compatriots who received a placebo.

How to consume

Ashwagandha is safe for most people; however, pregnant and breastfeeding women should not take it. Also, people with autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes and lupus must avoid it.

Franziska Spritzer RD, CDE writes in Healthline that extracts are more effective than raw Ashwagandha root or leaf powder. The standardized root extract is taken in capsule form of 400-500 mg once or twice daily. It’s a good idea to talk to your doctor to get a more personalized dosage. 

If you’re wondering where to get this herb, you’ll find Ashwagandha at health food stores and vitamin shops. 

The herb comes in many forms, including tea and powder. The powder is most comfortable to use because you can sprinkle it on your smoothies, food, and morning coffee. And the best part it does not have a taste. 

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beauty Health and wellness

CBD Beauty Products- Do They Actually Work

Unless you’ve been living under a stone, you’ve would hear the term CBD. Also, known as Cannabidiol, this product is now everywhere.

Cannabis oil is a concentrated liquid extract obtained from the marijuana plant, Cannabis sativa. It is one of the many non-psychoactive compounds in cannabis with plenty of healing properties.

Cannabis oil has found its ways into our honey, hot chocolates, and even our pet foods. Lately, it has also entered into the beauty and wellness arena.

Natural beauty and skin care lines are jumping at this opportunity to incorporate CBD oil into a wide array of products from bath salts to lip balms to lotions because this oil is a potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compound.

Beauty Benefits

Board certified dermatologists like Dr. Debra Jaliman recommend the use of this natural product for skin and hair since it is rich in vitamins A, C and E. Vitamin A stimulate the cells which produce tissues, and help to keep your skin firm and youthful.

Vitamin C fights the process of aging by stimulating the production of collagen and keeping your skin soft and supple. Likewise, vitamin E blocks free radicals and slows down the process of aging. CBD anti-aging creams diminish wrinkles, ruddy skin tone, and skin dullness.

Cannabis oil can also benefit breakout-prone complexions. Acne is an inflammatory condition which is linked to overproduction of sebum by sebaceous glands.

New research says that this non-psychoactive oil can help reduce sebum production. It has anti-inflammatory properties that help to soothe acne prone skin.

Another benefit of CBD oil is that it soothes irritated, sensitive skin. Its soothing and skin normalizing properties help reduce issues related to skin sensitivity, including redness.

Even though your skin may not be sensitive, it may get affected by environmental stressors. Using Cannabis oil beauty creams will protect your skin from the harmful environmental effects.

Things to Know Before Shopping for CBD Skincare

If you suffer from cystic acne, sunburn, wrinkles, skin dullness, and sensitivity CBD might be for you. Charlotte Palermino Co-founder of Nice Paper- a cannabis education platform gives valuable tips about choosing Cannabis oil skincare to Marie Claire.com

Before buying know your terminology, look for whole plant hemp, hemp extract, cannabis sativa extract, phytocannabinoids, phytocannabinoid rich (PCR) and Cannabidiol.

If these terms are on the label, there’s actual CBD in your products. This product is still mostly unregulated. CBD rich products will cost more than their lesser counterparts. Make sure you are spending your dollars on the quality product.

Finding a powerful formula requires some calculation. Compare the milligrams of Cannabis oil listed on the label, to the ounces on the packaging. If you want a potent formula, smaller bottles may have substantial doses while a large container that cost less will contain diluted CBD.

Next dosing is important. Check whether CBD or any related terminology is on the top half list of the ingredients. If it’s not present, then the dosing could be weak. If you find fragrance above CBD then probably it’s not very strong.

Shop responsibly and ask the brand for a Certificate of Analysis. This action proves that the brand has done exact testing on their product. Finally, look for diversity and support brands that are run by women and people of color. Try to encourage brands that support social justice.

If you put some thought into your CBD beauty products, it will not only enhance your beauty but be beneficial for the society as well.

This post contains affiliate links

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Health and wellness

Top Tips to Prevent Heart Disease 

fruit 2367029 640
fruit 2367029 640

 

Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death. That doesn’t mean that you have to accept it as your fate. Here are some key heart disease prevention and heart-healthy diet tips to help you reduce your risk. 

Avoid smoking or using tobacco

The chemicals in tobacco could damage your heart and blood vessels and causes narrowing of arteries due to plaque buildup. Carbon monoxide in the cigarette smoke replaces some of the oxygen in your blood and increases your blood pressure. As a result, your heart works harder to supply enough oxygen. 

Exercise

Regular physical activity helps you to control weight and prevents other conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes. A brisk walk for about thirty minutes for most of the days of the week results in a healthy heart. 

Get enough sleep

If you don’t get enough sleep, you have a higher risk of obesity, high blood pressure, heart attack, depression, and diabetes. Generally, adults need 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night. So make sleep a priority in your life. Set a sleep schedule and stick to it. 

Manage stress

If you’re stressed never resort to unhealthy habits such as smoking, drinking or overeating. Alternatively try to manage stress by doing physical activity, meditation or relaxation exercises. 

Eat a heart-healthy diet

A diet rich in whole grains, fruits and veggies are good for your heart. Include fat-free or low-fat dairy products, fish, beans, and lean meats as a part of a nutritious diet. Avoid too much sugar and salt in your diet. Likewise, try to control your portion sizes. Try to use a small plate or bowl to control your portions.

Create daily menus

Now that you have a basic idea of what foods to put into your heart-healthy diet and which ones to omit, it’s time to put your plan into motion. Create daily menus using heart-healthy foods. When you’re selecting foods for each snack and meal, emphasize on whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. Adding variety to your meals and snacks makes them more interesting. For example, if you have black bean burger one evening try grilled salmon the next night. This way you’ll ensure that your body gets all the nutrients. 

Get regular health screenings

High cholesterol and high blood pressure can damage your blood vessels and heart. Regular screenings will show your numbers and prompt you to take action. So test your blood pressure, cholesterol levels on a regular basis. Since diabetes is a risk factor for heart disease, consider being screened for diabetes. If you have any health conditions, your doctor may prescribe medications. Make sure you take those medications and follow a healthy lifestyle. 

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Health and wellness

Why is Water so Precious?

Water covers a large part of the earth’s surface, and it is essential for all known forms of life. There are many health benefits of drinking water.

The amount of water required by a person may vary depending on the level of activity, temperature, humidity, and other factors.

Water makes up to 60% of the body’s weight. It flushes toxins out of the vital organs and carries nutrients to the cells. Men roughly need about 13 glasses of water every day and women nine glasses of water every day.

It helps to moisturize your skin, keeping it young and healthy. It aids in digestion, prevents dehydration, and maintains the Ph balance of the body.

Drinking plenty of this precious resource helps to keep your kidney and heart in good condition. Along with a high fiber, diet water prevents constipation.

But drinking clear unpolluted water is a distant dream for many people in developing countries. Water is a nature’s gift to humanity; it is sad people around the world do not have access to clean drinking water. Do your part to save water on this precious planet.