I am on a mission. I am trying to get all my close ones to try meditation and since the readers of Choose To Thrive are all close to my heart, you are on my list as well.
After years of trying on and off to meditate unsuccessfully, I think I have finally been able to find my meditation groove although I am not yet a master at it. Even with my limited experience, the positive changes I have experienced is something that I want everyone to be able to achieve.
However, the biggest problem with meditation is that there are too many myths, misconceptions, supposed rules etc.
This keeps a lot of people away from it. I myself used to think meditation was not for me. Now I realize it’s because I believed in all of those misconceptions. Unfortunately most of us try to learn from gurus or videos online and buy into the hype that is being promoted.
So the main aim here of today’s article is to ensure that you are aware of these myths and do not let them turn you away from practicing this great art.
Here are the most common myths and misconceptions about meditation that I have personally experienced:
1) Meditation Time and Duration
At the moment, I meditate for about 15 minutes a day. On days that I am really busy, I try to get at least 5 minutes done.
However, when I was starting out, one of the main reasons I quit again and again was because people kept telling me you need to meditate for an hour. Some say meditate for 30 minutes at least to get any of the benefits of the practice.
Unfortunately most “gurus” are simply wrong. You do not need to meditate for that long every day. Of course if you can do it, then its brilliant. Just in case you don’t have the time, then 5 to 15 minutes is good enough. Important thing is to meditate every day. Not the duration.
Luckily I met someone who told me to start with just 15 to 30 seconds. That’s all you need to get comfortable with meditation and make it a habit.
So if you are one of those who have tried meditation and given up because you either don’t have the time or do not have the energy to meditate for an hour, remember just a few minutes a day is all you need.
2) Meditation Posture
When we try to learn meditation from a teacher or watch YouTube videos, they all ask you to sit in a particular position. They show about 4 postures and ask you to choose any one. They say you should meditate only when in any of those 4 positions.
Now I have lower back pain as well as knee pain. All of those postures were strictly a no for me. Again this demotivated me for a while.
However, what I do at the moment is sit on my sofa with a backrest. I ensure my back is straight. Not curved in any way. I then meditate in this sitting posture and I feel great after the session.
If you want, you can even lie down on the floor with a yoga mat. You can then meditate in this position as well. As long as your spine is straight, you are fine.
So choose a position that is comfortable for you and do not worry about what others are saying.
3) Promise of Nirvana
This is something that just made me feel odd at the beginning. Some people just go overboard on what they have experienced after meditating.
They talk about connecting to another world. They talk about sensing things from out of our known material world. They talk about achieving nirvana.
Now I can understand someone experiencing bliss after meditating regularly. However, this overdoing of the benefits can really turn people like me away from meditation.
Meditation has genuine health benefits. There is a proper science behind it which I will cover in another article. However, if you meditate and feel bad that you are not experiencing what others claim they do, then please do not get demotivated.
There are genuine long-term health benefits of meditating regularly. Just keep at it and you will experience changes in both your physical and emotional health.
4) No Thoughts
This was the toughest aspect of meditation for me. The general belief is that there should not be any thoughts whatsoever. From the moment you start, you need to stop thinking.
While the goal is to control your mind’s endless chatter and build focus, remember it is simply not possible to not have any thoughts at all. Unless of course you have some superhuman power or you have been meditating for ages.
It is only now that I understand that getting thoughts is natural. You just need to acknowledge your thought and then consciously start focusing on something else like your breathing.
That is exactly what I do now. Every time I start thinking of something, I take control by acknowledging that I have got a thought. Then I shift focus to my breath. I try to focus on inhalation and exhalation. Feel the air going through my nostrils, feel my lungs and diaphragm expanding and contracting.
After a while, I do get more thoughts but then I repeat the same process. Acknowledge that I have got a thought and shift focus back to my breathing.
5) Think of a Happy Place
This might be a controversial point for some to include in the myths and misconceptions about meditation.
There are many who say you need to think of a happy place and maintain your thoughts towards that happy place.
While this technique has helped a lot of people, it also is usually not recommended.
Meditation is about focus, stopping mindless chatter and not think about moving visions. Thinking of a happy place can trigger a number of thoughts and you are not really focusing on a single aspect like a breath. Hence those who use the ‘think of a happy place’ method may not be experiencing the full benefits of meditation.
Final Thoughts
It is tough to meditate for longer periods of time without having any thoughts from the beginning itself.
Also you will not really experience something out of this world even after meditating for a while.
Do not let these kinds of things demotivate you from meditation. The science behind meditation is real and you get genuine health benefits.
Please keep at it. Please keep trying even if its for a few minutes a day and do not let any of the myths and misconceptions about meditating keep you away from this wonderful practice.
It’s only afternoon and already you are yawning. Too tired to focus on the job at hand at the moment. Somehow you get through the day’s work with the help of coffee or tea. It is evening, you dread making dinner, have a headache and just want to go to sleep as soon as possible.
Unfortunately though, as soon as its time to hit the bed, your mind starts racing. You are lying awake thinking of everything under the sun. Somehow you feel less tired although you still have a niggling headache. You ask yourself to go to sleep but keep thinking, tossing and turning in bed. Even your new memory foam pillow or expensive mattress doesn’t seem to be doing anything for your sleep. Before you know it, it is already morning, time to get up and face another tiring day.
Sounds familiar? Well, if you are wondering what is wrong with you, just know that you are not the only one going through something like what I described above.
Always sleepy but can’t sleep has become quite a common occurrence amongst people of all ages. Some estimates and studies have concluded that almost 30% of the entire population suffer from chronic insomnia with a significant number of people suffering from severe sleep deprivation.
While you are not alone experiencing severe sleep deprivation and insomnia, you should know that in the long-run this condition can be quite dangerous to your health. You need to start working on getting quality sleep if you want to remain healthy, have a strong immune system and maintain optimum cognitive abilities.
So What Should You Do?
Before we get into what you can possibly do to increase the duration as well as quality of your sleep, lets discuss a few things that you should not do under any circumstances.
Don’t Expect Miracles
Insomnia is something that is developed over a number of years. You may not feel that way but it is something that is due to lifestyle choices you have made since you were a teenager. Maybe for some it developed at a later stage in life but definitely its something that slowly creeps up on you over time and before you know it, its too late.
It is therefore that to reverse the whole sleep disorder process, it takes a lot of time as well. Obviously it should not take several years but it will take time and you should not expect miracles from the first night itself.
Don’t Lose Patience
This is related to the above point and it is the most important point, hence the need to reiterate again. Your quality of sleep will not improve overnight and most people just lose patience. Please do not let that happen to you. Keep working on your sleep routine, habits and lifestyle choices to ensure over time you do fall asleep quickly and are able to maintain deep sleep for a number of hours.
Don’t Rely on Medicines or Supplements
Now I realize for some of you, medication and supplements are required but try to avoid them as much as possible.
Build and shape your mind as well as body to sleep naturally. Medication usually tries to take over your brain process and your body loses the ability to do things naturally. It gets used to the medicines and is always relying on them for calming the mind.
This can be dangerous in the long run and you have to work on increasing your body’s natural ability to calm itself down before sleeping.
Don’t Do Silly Things
Please don’t drink, consume food with sugar, binge watch shows or movies in the night and expect to go to sleep immediately. Very few people are gifted with the ability to go to sleep no matter what.
If you do such silly things, absolutely nothing that you can do will make you go to sleep especially if you already suffer from insomnia.
What To Do To Improve Your Quality of Sleep?
Now that we have covered a few things that you should not be doing, let us discuss what you can do to have a good night sleep.
Note that a good night sleep is made up of two factors.
1) Ability to fall asleep quickly.
2) Ability to have longer durations of deep sleep.
Both the factors are important for your overall sleep quality and health. However, even if you can achieve longer periods of going into deep sleep, it will be quite beneficial for your overall wellbeing.
Calm Your Body and Control Your Mind
Ultimately, to be able to sleep properly through the night, you need to be able to calm your body and control your mind.
Obviously this is much tougher than one can imagine. Calming your body is still possible but controlling your mind is near impossible. In fact you should know that at the moment, most of the human population cannot control their mind. Our minds are running in an uncontrolled manner with constant chatter and often repeating the same type of thoughts again and again.
For those with insomnia, this uncontrolled constant mind chatter is a dangerous activity. Even if your body is extremely tired, you have a headache and you desperately want to sleep, because your mind is racing at a million miles per hour, it becomes impossible to fall asleep. Even if you do manage some sleep, it is often not a deep sleep and some mind activity is still playing in the background.
So whatever we try to do to sleep, it needs to be to calm both your body and mind. You need just enough control for a limited period of time to genuinely fall asleep.
Breathing exercises while lying on the bed
The most important thing you can do to control your mind is do perform simple breathing exercises while lying on the bed. There are two very simple exercises that you should do every night and every time you feel your mind is racing to take back temporary control.
1) Equal diaphragm breathing: In this exercise, you simply have to ensure you breathe in and out in equal amount of time. So if you inhale for four seconds, you need to exhale in four seconds as well.
I usually just count to four. So when breathing in I inhale to a count of four, hold for one second and then exhale to a count of four.
Apart from equal timing in inhaling and exhaling, you also need to ensure that you are breathing using your diaphragm. Your diaphragm is located between your chest and stomach. Don’t worry if you cannot locate it. All you need to ensure is that when breathing in, your stomach rises as well. It is not just your chest that is rising.
If you have ever seen a baby breathing, you will notice its stomach rising every time the baby inhales. That is the correct, natural way of breathing which most of us lose out over time.
So to recap, use equal counts to breathe in and out, make sure your stomach rises while inhaling, hold your breath for one second before exhaling.
2) The 4-7-8 breathing technique: I had come across this technique long back on the internet and after practicing a while, I feel it genuinely works in calming you down.
This technique is super easy.
All you have to do is first inhale for 4 seconds. Next hold your breath for 7 seconds and then slowly exhale for 8 seconds. Just count in your mind if you do not know the exact second.
Keep doing this and you will experience a sense of calm in your body.
Note that both the above breathing exercises should be done for at least five minutes. Also don’t worry if you feel its not helping or you cannot do it more than say a minute before your mind starts thinking of something else. This happens to everyone. That is the reason I had mentioned earlier you need patience and know that things will not happen overnight. You just need to keep at it and not give up.
Also the first breathing exercise given above can be used anytime, even during meditation. Just start the exercise whenever you feel you need it or just need to stop the chatter in your mind.
Aromatherapy
This is another important thing you can do to get a good night sleep. Once again, there are two methods of Aromatherapy that you can use. However, you may need to experiment a bit with which smell or aroma is best suited for you. Most people react to different aromas in a variety of ways.
For example, I had read on the internet that lavender oil has properties that calm your nerves and help in falling asleep. However, even after using drops of lavender oil on my pillow or through diffusers for over a month, nothing really happened. In the end, I tried green tea oil, sandal wood oil and even eucalyptus oil to start getting a sense of what works best for me.
1) Couple of drops each side of your pillow: The first thing you can try is get a small bottle of a pure and organic oil of your choice. It can be any of the aromas I mentioned above or whatever smells nice to you. As long as it is pure oil and not filled with additives, artificial fragrances etc., you are fine.
Just use a dropper and put two small drops of the oil on each side of your pillow. When lying on bed, this aroma will slowly engulf you giving you a nice sense of calm.
Note do not overdo on the drops. Strong smell will end up causing you to feel fresh and the opposite of feeling sleepy.
2) Use a diffuser: Instead of dropping the oil directly on your pillow, you can mix 5 drops of the oil with 10 drops of water in a diffuser. Note your diffuser may need more water so use accordingly.
Let the aroma of the diffuser spread through your bedroom and then you can switch it off before going to sleep. Ensure you have no burning candles etc. before you hit the bed.
Aromatherapy can really help calm both your body and mind as long as you have found the right fragrance for you. Also once again, do not use artificial fragrances of any kind. They will hurt your chances of going to sleep even more.
Inhaling Eucalyptus Oil Vapor
If you have even the slightest blocked nose, it can be difficult to perform the breathing exercises or get the full benefits of aromatherapy. It is therefore recommended to inhale the vapor of eucalyptus oil to clear your nose before sleeping.
What you need to do is boil some water, put it in a bowl, put not more than three drops of pure eucalyptus oil in it. Cover yourself with a towel and breath in the warm vapor for as long as you can.
It will note only help in clearing your nose but also in calming you down before sleeping.
Be Practical
I realize this is not much of a technical tip but still wanted to put it out there. Often we do not sleep as we are constantly thinking of all the problems and issues of our lives.
Here we just need to be a bit more practical. You need to tell yourself, what is the point of worrying or constantly replaying the issues in our minds. It is not like as if the problems will go away in the morning.
So just be practical and stop thinking of the issues. I know this is easier said than done but at least try. Using the breathing exercises to make your mind focus on your breath instead of any other issues you are facing.
Rule out medical issues
While most people have acquired insomnia over time and it is a result of poor lifestyle choices, for some, it is due to an underlying health issue within themselves.
It is therefore recommended to get medical tests done or take the opinion of a doctor to rule out any genuine medical health issues.
Honestly, just knowing you are overall healthy will give you peace of mind and will calm your body down before sleeping.
Declutter your room
The environment you sleep in, makes a huge difference in your overall quality of sleep. Hence it is always recommended to declutter and clean your room for a good night sleep.
A well-organized room is not just pleasing to the eye, it helps your body feel comfortable and therefore helps your mind relax a bit more.
Wakeup and Sleep Routine
I probably should have covered this point first as it is as important as the breathing techniques given above.
Please maintain a proper routine and time for going to sleep and waking up. I know that the time you hit the bed is not the same as going to sleep but you should go to bed at the same time every night as much as possible.
Also wake up at the same time even if you are tired and want to sleep a bit more. Sometimes, it is good to get so tired that when you go to bed in the night, you cant help but fall asleep. Of course whenever you are that tired, make sure you are not doing any activity such as driving that can potentially be harmful to both yourself and others.
Maintaining a proper wakeup and sleep routine will eventually help your body clock to know when it is time to sleep and you will doze off as soon as you go to bed.
Light Yoga Stretches
If possible, performing just five minute basic yoga stretches before going to bed is beneficial for relieving muscle stress and relaxing the body.
Remember not to do anything strenuous. Stretches that help your legs, back and shoulders really help with calming you down. The breathing exercises given above will also be much more effective if your body has already started to relax after the yoga movements.
Final Thoughts
Falling asleep is all about your ability to relax, calm your body and control your mind. The breathing exercises and aromatherapy are the most important things you can do to fall asleep. In fact, anything you can think of that calms you down will help you to sleep.
However, I am repeating again, for those with severe sleep disorders, it takes a lot of time and patience to be able to again start sleeping on time and getting into deep sleep.
Please do not give up and continue for as long as it takes to redevelop good sleeping habits.
Also, as much as possible, avoid external help in sleeping. I am not just talking about medication here. There are certain herbal teas that calm you down and help sleeping. However, the goal is to be able to sleep on your own and ensure your body or mind is not relying on anything you ingest to sleep. If you manage to do that, then you will see a huge improvement in not just your sleeping pattern but also in your cognitive and overall wellbeing.
The global multivitamin industry was already one of the fastest-growing industries in the world. Thanks to Covid19 and the pandemic, pretty much everyone I know is trying to consume as many pills as possible to boost their immunity. There is a general belief that multivitamin tablets can help in promoting overall wellbeing and bridge any shortfall of vitamins in the human body.
However, things are not that simple. It really made me wonder whether we are potentially heading towards something more dangerous. Can these pills really undo what poor lifestyle and eating habits have caused in our bodies?
So I tried to do a bit of research online and go through various expert opinions to find out whether multivitamins actually work or are they some disaster waiting to happen.
What Do Multivitamins Contain?
To understand how multivitamins affect your body, you must first have a basic idea of what each multivitamin tablet contains within itself.
Typically there would be three key components in any multivitamin pill.
These would be:
The Vitamin Itself
Additives
The Coating
Let us first talk about the vitamins itself. Obviously a multivitamin tablet will contain doses of various vitamins such as A, B12, C, D, E etc. The important detail here is that the vitamin in your tablet may not be the same as the vitamins you get from food.
Vitamins in a pill may come from natural as well as synthetic sources. Natural sources are further divided into plant-based and animal-based vitamins. Most pills would contain a mixture of all these sources including synthetic ones.
You may think over here that natural is any day better than synthetic vitamins. With respect to that, firstly you should know that our body does have the capability to absorb synthetic vitamins. Also, natural vitamins do not always mean good. Second, you need to consider which part of the animal was used to extract the vitamins. How these vitamins will react in our bodies and what is the percentage value of each vitamin in the tablet.
After the vitamin itself, there are additives added to pills. This is because not all vitamins can be absorbed in our bodies through tablets. Again over here there are various types of additives that are added to multivitamins and not all of these are from natural sources.
Finally comes the coating. The pill has to take the shape of a tablet or capsule containing all of the vitamins, additives etc. They have to be brought together and then encapsulated into one single form. This process of combining all the elements and coating them is done by industrial machines. The final product is then packaged carefully before selling them to the end consumer. The coating is made up of materials that will easily dissolve in the stomach and help release the vitamins for absorption in the body.
Are Multivitamin Tablets Dangerous?
According to a report published in Johns Hopkins Medicine that looked at various studies, analysis and research, regular multivitamins consumption did not reduce the risk in adults with respect to various health conditions such as heart disease, cancer, mental degeneration etc.
The studies mentioned in the report had shown no signs of long-term benefits of multivitamins and strongly recommended a well-balanced diet for the essential nutrients required by our body.
Now you may think that the effectiveness of multivitamins is questionable but it does not mean they are dangerous.
The same article mentioned above did conclude that high doses of vitamins can in fact by downright dangerous. This includes vitamin E and beta-carotene supplements.
So when it comes to the dangers of using multivitamins on a regular basis, it does get harmful in the following events:
If you consistently go over the daily recommended value for each vitamin or nutrient.
If you are consuming high doses of certain vitamins.
If your multivitamin pills are mainly composed of synthetic sources or sources that are not easily absorbed or digested by your system.
If your multivitamin tablets come with various other components other than the actual vitamins itself.
Then there is also the case of going into a false sense of security. What I mean by this is that many people feel better when they are consuming multivitamin tablets and feel this will compensate for an otherwise poor lifestyle.
Ultimately your lifestyle choices make the most difference in your overall health and wellbeing. Just by consuming multivitamin tablets, your body will not automatically build immunity or fight against current health issues.
There are enough studies now to show multivitamins can be used to fill a gap in the diet but not to cure health problems, especially the more serious conditions related to heart, brain and cancer.
Is It Completely Pointless to Consume Multivitamins?
While multivitamins will not help you to fight chronic diseases, serious health conditions and health problems already present in your body, it is not completely useless to consume multivitamins.
The important aspect to note here is why you are consuming the multivitamin?
It is not always possible to get the daily recommended value of various vitamins through purely dietary means. In such cases, you may consume moderate quantities of multivitamin tablets to fill the balance requirements. Doing so can have a positive effect on your body.
However, if you are going above the daily recommended value or are simply substituting your poor lifestyle choices with pills then it is not just pointless but also dangerous.
Think of multivitamins as prevention instead of cure that too in moderate quantities only.
Final Conclusion on Multivitamins – What you must remember before consuming them.
1) There is no substitute for vitamins through food. Ideally, try to get your vitamin requirements from your daily diet and food intake. Use multivitamin tablets only to complete the daily recommended value for each vitamin that you do not get from your diet.
2) Multivitamins cannot cure diseases or health issues that are already present in your body. This is especially true for the more serious health concerns such as heart attacks, cancer and brain diseases.
3) Always check the sources of vitamins in your multivitamin tablet or pill. Plant-based vitamins are usually considered safe. However, you need to check if these can be easily absorbed by your body. Also apart from the nutrients, what else does your multivitamin contain?
4) Do not fall for marketing jargon such as “nature identical”, “natural substitute”, “FDA approved” etc. Do some research on the actual contents of the multivitamins, their sources and whether they are genuinely all-natural.
5) Research on the percentage of each vitamin in your pill and make sure you are not taking high doses. There are enough studies to show high doses of vitamins plus synthetic sources could be quite harmful to your body.
6) Ultimately there is going around poor lifestyle choices. It is your lifestyle, what you eat, your daily routine, exercise, sleep etc. that matters. If you do not take care of your lifestyle, multivitamin pills will not make any difference to your health.
If you are planning to lose weight without exercise and dieting then read this guide about Green Tea Recipes for Weight Loss how easy it is to lose weight fast. Green Tea keeps you fit and helps to lose weight in a simpler way.
Green tea is very effective for weight loss Goal as well as it benefits the human body in a number of ways – by speeding up metabolism and increasing satiety. Add green tea to your daily routine of healthy drinks and you will feel the change and eventually will love drinking it without it being a compulsion.
A number of research studies about green tea prove that people who drink green tea two to six times daily for over 2-3 months lose more than five percent of body weight. it can really be called a fabulous drink and if you want to make the most out of its catechins, antioxidants you must select green tea brands
Adding lemon juice or honey to the pure green tea will not only help you to speed up in losing weight but also a great taste to your drink.
15 Green Tea Recipes For Weight Loss.
So here we go, the 15 best green tea recipes for weight loss. These green tea recipes will help you to lose weight eventually by just having a daily dose of sipping.
1. Natural Green Tea
Natural Green Tea Can Help You Lose Fat, Especially The Harmful Abdominal Fat. When it comes to actual pounds lost, the effects of greenGreen tea for weight lose tea are relatively modest.
Although there are numerous studies showing that people do in fact lose weight, Natural green tea is most effective when it compared with other green tea recipes for weight loss
Ingredients
Green tea bag – 1
Hot water – 1 cup
Lemon – 1/2 slice
Natural Green Tea Recipe
In all green tea recipes for weight loss, it is simple and fast to make. Simply add a half slice of Lemon to a cup of hot water with 1 Green tea bag dipped in. This pure Green tea is ready for weight loss and at the same time improving your immunity system.
2. Iced Lavender Green Tea
This is a low-calorie drink, and the fresh lavender blossomsIced Lavender Green tea image give a subtle flavor to the sugar-free tea. Lavender is not only helpful in losing weight, it one of the best natural remedies for hair loss as well.
Regular use of Lavender Green Tea will boost up your weight loss program. You can easily get lavender blossoms from natural food stores and is simple to make. Use fresh garden lavender, if you have it, for a lightly floral, super refreshing iced tea ingredients
Ingredients
4 green tea bags
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lavender blossoms or 3/4 tsp.
dried lavender Lavender sprigs (optional)
Iced Lavender Green Tea recipe
Heat 1 qt. water in a medium saucepan until it begins to simmer Remove from heat and add tea and lavender.
Steep for 5 minutes. Strain into a heatproof bowl or pitcher or bowl. Let cool.
Now, pour the prepared tea into ice-filled glasses and season it with some lavender sprigs to make it more appealing.
3. Green Tea-Kiwi and Mango Smoothie
This is one of the delicious smoothie recipes with kiwi prepared by mashing your favorite fruits kiwi and mangoes. Its also very helpful to lose weight and get a flat belly
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups frozen diced mango
3/4 cup vanilla fat-free yogurt, divided
1/4 cup honey, divided
2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon grated lime rind
3 ripe kiwifruit, peeled and quartered
2 cups ice cubes
1/2 cup packed baby spinach
2 tablespoons bottled green tea
Kiwifruit slices (optional)
Kiwi and Mango Smoothie Recipe
Place mango, 1/2 cup yogurt, 2 tablespoons honey, 2 tablespoons water, and lime rind in a blender; process until smooth, stirring occasionally. Divide mango mixture into each of 4 serving glasses; place glasses in freezer.
Rinse blender container. Place 1/4 cup yogurt, 2 tablespoons honey, kiwifruit, and next 3 ingredients in a blender; process until smooth, stirring occasionally gently spoon green tea-kiwi mixture onto mango mixture in reserved glasses, working carefully around inside of each glass to create a clean horizontal line. Garnish with kiwifruit slices, and stir to combine flavors, if desired. Serve immediately.
4. Green- Tea Cranberry Spritzer
Eating fruits and vegetables for losing weight is by far the best option and it gives the best result when you used a combination of green tea and refreshing cranberries. Planning for some party in your family or friends? You must try out this refreshing cranberry spritzer. Nothing beats spritzer in welcoming guests to host an outdoor party.
Ingredients:
Green- Tea -Cranberry- Spritzer-image
Green Tea Bags- 4
Cranberry juice- ½ cup
Seltzer (Chilled)- 3 cups
Sugar- 1/3 cup
Water- 1/3 cup
Procedure:
Green- Tea Cranberry Spritzer Recipe
Heat water in a saucepan and add sugar to this boiled water. Stir it until the sugar completely dissolves. After it gets completely cooled steep the tea bags in 2 cups of boiling water for 2 minutes. Remove bags and cool it completely. Add Cranberry juice and divide the tea into four different ice-filled glasses. Top it with chilled seltzer and is now ready to serve. enjoy Cranberry Spritzer green tea for weight loss.
5. Green Tea, Almond, and Blue Berry Smoothie
Almond and Blue Berry Smoothie green tea for weight loss contains all the ingredients that speed up your metabolism and burn the fat from belly and other parts of the body. The benefits of almonds and almond milk for skin and weight management are well known. This smoothie is very helpful for all ages to lose fat.
Ingredients:
Green Tea Bags
Blueberries (fresh)- 2 cups
Fat-Free Vanilla Yogurt- 12 oz
Almonds (dry, roasted, unsalted) – 2 tbsp
Flax seeds- 2 tbsp
Water- ¾ cups
Ice Cubes- 3
Almond and Blue Berry Smoothie Green Tea Recipe
take some water to boil, pour over tea bags and steep for about 4-5 minutes. Squeeze and remove tea bags, chill the tea overnight. If using fresh blueberries, you need to place it in the freezer overnight. Place all the ingredients in a blender, process until smooth and divide the smoothie into ice-filled glasses.
6. Lemon Grass and Ginger Iced Tea
Lemon and ginger are very well known to lose weight and other benefits. With its subtle flavor lemongrass and ginger iced tea is a perfect drink for every tea lover. With low caffeine levels and antioxidants present in this tea makes you feel energized all day long.it is one of the best and most used green tea recipes for weight loss.
Rinse the lemongrass thoroughly, cut into 2-inch lengths and crush it with a knife. Take 2 cups of water, lemongrass, ginger, and sugar to boil in a bowl. Take off the Bowl from heat, add green tea bags and steep the tea for about 5 minutes. Remove the tea bags if you think the flavor is strong and leave the tea cool for about 25-30 minutes. Pour the tea into a pitcher through a fine strainer. Cover the tea and keep it chilled until cold for at least 2 hours and divide the tea into four different ice-filled glasses.
7. Peach White Tea
The catechins in white tea may help your body burn a few extra calories. White tea contains properties that help you lose some weight, and it may be beneficial in whittling your middle.
It contains the goodness of peaches that helps in relieving stress and anxiety. It is also one of the best fruits for glowing skin. Therefore, peaches are often known as the “Fruit of Calmness”. Being a rich source of phytochemicals, it helps in fighting obesity-related diabetes and heart diseases. But when it comes to weight loss and losing belly fat, don’t rely on just adding white tea to your diet.
Ingredients
Green tea bags – 2
Sliced and peeled peaches – 1 cup
Granulated Sugar – 2 Tsp
Recipe for Peach White Tea
Steep the white tea bags in a cup of warm water for 5 minutes and then discard the bags. In a large bowl, heat a cup of water and add the peach slices and granulated sugar. Cook the peaches by stirring continuously for about 10 to 12 minutes, keeping on a low Heat. Pour the tea and peaches mix in a tall glass. Refrigerate it for 1 hour, strain the drink and serve it with ice cubes.
8. Iced Green Tea
Iced green tea is very effective to lose weight due to its low-calorie recipe that leaves you refreshing, chilled and it lowers the risk of Alzheimer’s and diabetes. It is one of the best home remedies to boost metabolism. as a result, you burn fat. The flavor of tea invigorates you as soon as you just sip it.
Ingredients:
Green Tea Bags – 6 to 8iced-green-tea-recipe-for-weight-lose
Boiling water – 4 cups
Cold water – 2 cups
Artificial sweetener (non-caloric) – ½ cup
Iced Green Tea recipe
Pour boiling water into a saucepan over the tea bags and steep for about 5 minutes. Squeezing gently, remove tea bags from the water. Add sweetener to cold water and stir for 2 minutes until the sweetener dissolves. Let the tea come to room temperature and is now ready to serve.
9. Rose Petal Tea
Apart from that rose petals also have laxative and diuretic properties, that help clear out the stomach, get rid of toxins from the body, improves metabolism and digestion — in turn helping in weight loss.
If you are more into aromatic teas, then the rose petal tea is the ideal beverage for you. This exotic green tea recipe for weight loss helps you burn calories in a healthy way. Enjoy the exotic taste of rose petal tea and beat the summer heat.
Ingredients
Oranges – 1Rose Tea Recipe
Green Tea Leaves – 1 Tsp
Dried and Crumbled Rose and Hibiscus Petals – 1 Tsp
How to Make Rose Tea
Use a vegetable peeler to peel the rind from the orange, but avoid the pith. Now, let the rinds dry at room temperature for 1 day and then grind them finely. In a cup add the rind, green tea leaves, and the flower petals, pour boiling water from above and let the tea steep for 10 minutes, strain the tea, add artificial sweetener and freeze it for 1 hour. Sip the chilled tea.
10. Minty Green Tea
Minty Green Tea recipe is one of the amazingly refreshing Mint Green Tea Recipe for Weight Loss and delicious in all green tea recipes for weight loss that uses the goodness of mint. The refreshing flavors of mint provide satiety and prevent hunger cravings. The benefits of mint leaves and mint oil for hair and skin are well known. It also helps in speeding up digestion and fat burn in the body. In addition, this drink contains merely 9 calories, which makes it much healthier than soda.
Ingredients:
Fresh mint leaves – 1/2 cup
Green tea bags – 2
Honey – 1 Tsp
Minty Green Tea Recipe
Add the washed and chopped mint leaves in a tall glass, add the tea bags and pour boiling water over the top. Now, keep the glass in a fridge for 3 to 4 hours. Remove the tea bags using a spoon, add the honey and mix well, add some crushed ice from the top and serve with a straw.
11. Tulsi Green Tea
Its also known as one of the best green tea for health that contains the goodness of Tulsi leaves that makes it a rich source of antioxidants. Tulsi green tea neutralizea the damage caused by free radicals and oxidative stress. Adding some honey makes it more effective for weight loss as honey is great for weight management.
This tea is also effective in guarding against a cough and cold and effective elimination of toxins.
Ingredients:
Tulsi Leaves – 8 to 10
Green tea bags – 1
Honey – 1 Tsp
Tulsi Green Tea Recipe
Wash and chop the Tulsi leaves roughly, add the Tulsi leaves and the green tea bag in a cup. Pour warm water into the cup, cover it with a saucer and let it steep for 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the saucer, take out the tea bag, add the honey, mix well and enjoy it warm or cold.
12. Raspberry Green Tea
Raspberries are known as one of the best fruits for juicing which helps in weight loss. Raspberry-Green-Tea for weight loss Raspberry green tea is loaded with the antioxidant benefits of juicy red raspberries. Xylitol found in raspberries is a low-calorie sugar substitute so that even diabetics can enjoy the drink without adding sugar to the tea. It is also a rich source of vitamins A, C, and E.
Ingredients
Raspberries – 1 Cup
Green tea bags – 2
Granulated sugar – 1 tsp (optional)
Raspberry Green Tea Recipe
Heat some water in a bowl or pan and pour it into a cup. Add the green tea bags to it and let them steep for 5 minutes and then discard the bags. In a large saucepan, heat 1 cup of water, add the raspberries and sugar to it and boil it on medium heat let it simmer until the raspberries break up. Add the raspberries mixture to the tea, let it cool down, keep it in a fridge for 1 hour, strain it and enjoy chilled.
13. Melon and Green Tea
The appetizing and refreshing aroma of melons dissolves with the goodness of green tea to make it one of the best cold tea recipes that combine both taste and health. Melons are well known for its weight loss properties which make it an amazing and effective green tea for losing weight. It is one of the delicious anti-aging fruits for a youthful and lively skin.
Ingredients
Green tea bags – 2
Melon – 1/2 cup
Chopped mint leaves – 4 Tsp
Granulated Sugar – 2 Tsp
Melon and Green Tea Drink Recipe
Heat a cup of water in a pan, and steep the green tea bags in the water; wait for 5 minutes and discard the tea bags. Heat another cup of water in a deep bottomed saucepan, add the mint leaves, melon, and sugar to it, cook the melons over medium heat till they become tender. Pour the tea and this melon mixture into a tall glass, mix well and freeze it for 2 hours. Strain the drink and enjoy chilled.
14. ICED POMEGRANATE TEA
Pomegranate is will know for digestion as well as for weight loss. its refreshing ice tea is packed with all the goodness which helps and burn extra fat easily in less time. Pomegranates which are rich in anti-oxidants and loads of freshness of lemon and mint leaves; ideal to beat the scorching summer heat and burn extra fat easily in less time
Ingredients
Pomegranates – 1 cup
weight loss
Tea bags – 4 teabags
Water – 4 cups
Simple syrup – as per taste
Thin lemon slices – 4-5 for garnishing
Mint leaves – 2 tablespoons + extra for garnishing
ICED POMEGRANATE TEA Recipe
Boil the water in a saucepan. Turn the heat off, add the tea bags, mint leaves and allow to steep for 10 minutes.
In a blender, blend the pomegranates with ½ cup of water. Pour the juice through a fine mesh into a bowl, using the back of a spoon squeeze out juice completely. Remove the tea bags and pour the tea into the juice. Stir well.
Pour into a pitcher and chill the tea for about an hour in the fridge. Fill the serving glasses with ice cubes and pour the tea. Garnish with fresh mint and sliced lemon and serve.
15. Mango Green Tea Lemonade
This Mango Green Tea Lemonade is the perfect thirst quencher for those long hot days of summer. Sweet mangoes pair perfectly with sour lemons and the bright taste of green tea making this drink both refreshing and addictive.it help to stay fit and losing weight
Ingredients
Mango Green Tea Lemonade recipe4 cups of boiling water
8 Green Tea Bags
2 Cups Cold Water
1/2 cup simple syrup
Mango Green Tea Lemonade Recipe
Bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Add tea bags to water and let steep for 5 minutes. Squeeze and remove tea bags from water. Add 2 cups of cold water and simple syrup. (You may want to start with 1/4 cup simple syrup and adjust sweetness to your liking.)Stir to combine.
All of the green tea recipes for weight loss shared above follow almost the same procedure except that there is variation in the ingredients you use. All the ingredients are low in calorific value, rich in antioxidants, boost up your metabolism and helps to reduce your body fat and thus add up to your weight- loss plan. You
You Can ask any Question Or Share your favorite smoothie recipes via comments section that really works and helps to lose your body weight.
Alcohol is the root cause of more than half the problems in this world. Accidents, domestic abuse, rifts in familial relations, failure of organs and last but not the least death. These are all problems that either lead to severe drinking or are caused by it! Alcohol, while acting as a poison in the long run, serves as a balm in the short one, providing you respite from your troubled life if only for a few minutes.
However, the exquisite pleasure and relief that these few minutes give you is hard to ignore and so like the weak humans that we are, we give in to this temptation and let it lead us to our grave. Quitting alcohol, while not an easy task, is not impossible. If you want to help yourself then you don’t even need rehab. Here are a few herbal remedies to help you quit alcohol.
Effective Herbal Remedies For Quitting Alcohol
Kudzu
This is a Chinese herbal remedy for quitting alcohol. Kudzu is a herb which is extremely effective in curbing the urge to drink. Not only this, it also helps repair liver damages. It reduces and almost stops headaches caused by muscle tension which is common in patients trying to quit alcohol.
It also regulates your blood pressure. The kudzu tea is easy to make. All you need to do is add one tsp of kudzu herbal tea to a cup of water and drink it. do this 2-3 times a day.
Milk Thistle
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The seeds in this herb help remove toxins and even alcohol form our liver. Taking in milk thistle extracts is a must for a recovering alcoholic. This herb tastes bitter and as horrible as anything edible can be so it is preferable to take it in as capsules or with glycerine. It will help you quit alcohol by reducing the withdrawal symptoms that are not too far when you stop taking in alcohol.
Passionflower Tea
This herb helps you fall asleep easily. When you experience the withdrawal symptoms of alcoholism it will become difficult for you to rest and go to sleep. This tea helps in these stages of recovery. It is easy to make and effective in its cure. You can either make the tea with passionflower alone or even add valerian or hops to make it a more effective sleep blend.
Reishi Mushroom Tea
The recipe for this tea is to take one tablespoon of chopped reishi mushrooms, one teaspoon dried ginger root, one teaspoon dried orange peel and three cups of water. Add the ingredients to the water and boil it in a pot. Take it off when its starts simmering. Divide and drink this concoction within a single day. Repeat the procedure every day. Reishi mushrooms are a great stress reliever and they do so without the shortcomings of the store brought drugs.
Gotu Kola
Gotu kola is a herb which rejuvenates and revitalizes your brain. It removes the hazy fog of alcohol addiction and makes it easier for you to quit alcohol and recover from the damages that it has already done.
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