When it comes to your health, that old saying ‘you are what you eat,’ couldn’t be more apt. The fact is that our health reflects what we eat – the healthier we eat, the healthier our bodies tend to be.

Yes, we all know how important following a clean diet is, but is that all it takes to be truly healthy or are there certain foods that give your health that little extra boost? Study after study has shown that there are certain healthy foods that do more for our bodies than others.

food good for your health

Sure, all fruits and vegetables are good for us, but they’re not all equal in terms of how good for us they are and what their health benefits are. There are a lot of foods that are considered healthy, but when it comes to how good for us they are, they’re not all born equal.

So, with that in mind, the question is, which foods can give your health a major boost?

Avocado

One of the most popular foods in the food industry right now – avocado is the new A-lister in the salad bowl. Unlike most other fruits – yes, avocado is a fruit – avocado is high in healthy fats instead of being high in carbohydrates.

Avocado is incredibly high in nutrients compared to many other fruits (and vegetables). One small avocado contains 20 different vitamins and nutrients, including Vitamins K, E, B6, and C – how incredible is that? Avocados also contain more potassium than bananas – potassium is something that most of us aren’t getting enough of.

Then there’s the fact that if you’ve got high cholesterol, eating avocado on a regular basis can help to lower it. As well as being able to reduce the risk of heart disease – the leading cause of all deaths across the world.

Cider vinegar

Apple cider vinegar is something that we should all be getting more of in our diets. Why? Because apple cider vinegar has many different health benefits, from helping to balance blood sugar to making shedding those extra pounds a little easier.

Of course, the idea of drinking cider vinegar may not appeal to everyone, but if you’re willing to add it to your diet in one way or another, it can have a big impact. A simple way to get cider vinegar into your diet is to cook with it – many people add it to rice to add flavor, for example.

Fruit infused water

Over the past couple of years, fruit infused water has become a huge deal in the health industry, and with good reason. Not only does fruit infused water taste incredible and offer fantastic hydration, but it also has many health benefits. Then there’s also the fact that it tastes amazing – water can be a little boring on its own but infusing fruit into it can make it much more enjoyable to drink. Fruit infused water is also known as detox water because certain types of infusions can help to detoxify the body. For example, studies have shown that by drinking lemon and cucumber water, the body is able to remove toxins more quickly, boosting your health. Research has also shown that certain fruit combinations also allow the body to lose weight more quickly, due to the effect that detoxing has on the body.

Then there’s the fact that infused water helps to keep your organs, skin, and hair healthy. Studies have shown that people who drink fruit-infused water tend to have healthier skin and hair than people who don’t. This is because of the vast amount of vitamins and nutrients that are packed into fruit infused water.

Fruit and vegetable skin

There are some fruits and vegetables that we naturally eat the skin of, such as grapes, berries, and cucumber. However, there are other fruits that we tend to peel, as for some reason we’re under the impression that their skins aren’t nutritious, but that isn’t actually the case.

Various studies have shown that when we strip fruits and vegetables of their skins, we’re actually removing one of the most nutritious parts. For example, because of their bright color, most fruit and vegetable peels are a good source of beneficial phytochemicals. Then there’s the fact that fruit and vegetable skins tend to be higher in fiber than the fruit or vegetable themselves.

Scientists have also found that many fruits and vegetables are more beneficial at protecting against health conditions, like cancer, when eaten whole. Take apples, for example, studies have shown that unpeeled apples have a greater effect on cancer cells than peeled apples. Who knew that eating the peel could make a fruit or vegetable so much more nutritious?

Raw garlic

In ancient times, garlic (particularly raw garlic) was often used to treat a range of health conditions. Although nowadays garlic is most commonly used for cooking, for thousands of years it was most commonly used in medicine. From the Egyptians and Greeks to the Romans, various civilizations relied on garlic for its medicinal benefits throughout history.

Just 28 grams of garlic contains a potent mix of vitamins and minerals, including Vitamin C and B6. The combination of nutrients found in garlic is able to treat a range of health problems, from the common cold to high blood pressure. Studies have also shown that eating garlic on a regular basis may also help to prevent the onset of dementia in seniors.

Manuka honey

Honey is naturally antibacterial and antibiotic and has many health benefits. Manuka honey, however, is even more beneficial. Wondering what’s so special about Manuka honey? Well, it’s honey produced purely from a manuka bush, hence the name. This specialist type of honey has many benefits that normal honey does not, which is why it’s so popular in the health industry.

Research has shown that Manuka honey has up to four times the vitamins and nutrients or normal honey, meaning that it’s four times more beneficial. All raw honey is high in amino acids, vitamins, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, sodium, and zinc, among other things. However, Manuka honey is much more beneficial.

The health benefits of Manuka honey include for treating skin conditions, like acne and eczema, treating infections such as MRSA, using on burns and sores to speed up healing and offer pain relief, and also using to treat digestive problems, such as IBS.

So, there you have it, the foods and drinks that can give your health a major boost.

How to Help Minimize Your Blog’s Environmental Impact

It’s something we don’t always think about, but using power has an effect on the environment, as does nearly everything we do. From the paper we use to the equipment we buy, what we consume and what the companies we shop from do with the things we trade in or recycle matters.

So when it comes to blogging, we have to think about the impact it has on the environment. Starting a website that is “green’ has to do with a lot more than just choosing and purchasing a domain name. It has to do with how your site is hosted, where servers get their energy from, and even how and where you blog.

Here are some effective methods to help minimize your blog’s environmental impact.

Check Out Your Host

Not all hosts are created equal. First of all, there are two different types of hosting, and each comes with its own environmental cost. The first is shared hosting, which is the most common and environmentally friendly type, at least on the surface. This is when your website shares server space with other websites. As long as you don’t have a huge amount of traffic, it will serve your needs, while reducing the amount of power you generate, saving environmental pollution from the production of non-renewable energy.

The other kind of hosting is dedicated hosting, which means your site has its own server. This, of course, takes more energy than sharing a server with others, but if you have a lot of traffic to your site and want to minimize downtime, it is essential.

The important thing is to know where your host gets their server space. Some have their own servers, others use Microsoft, Google, Oracle or Amazon Web Services (AWS) servers. Many of these large server farms consume large amounts of energy, but many of them are also powered by solar, wind, or other forms of clean energy.

There’s nothing wrong with getting a large amount of server space for your blog; in fact, I sincerely hope that your blog becomes so successful that you have to upgrade to a dedicated host, but by being conscious of who you choose to work with, and thoroughly researching their production methods, you stand a much better chance of staying in the green, as far as the environment’s concerned.

Look into Self-Service

Of course, you can host your own blog if you have access to your own server. Many larger companies have this option, but if you have a way to power your own server with renewable energy, you can self-host and ensure that your blog has as little impact on the environment as possible.

Though this is often the best method for ensuring you’re being environmentally friendly, there are two distinct disadvantages. First, there is a much higher initial cost unless you have another use for the server besides your website. You can of course offer server space to other websites if you have room, but if you want to live by your principles of responsible conservation, it will take additional time on your part to ensure that the people whose sites you host are eco-friendly as well.

The second issue is that, if you do not have another use for your server, you could be wasting a lot of natural resources by hosting your own site, resources and power that could better be used elsewhere, even if they are “green.” The operations and maintenance of a server makes this cost prohibitive for many users. It’s definitely an option to consider, but objectively, if you’re spending more to setup and maintain your blog than you are making, you’re going to lose your capacity to live, and that will affect your future conservation efforts as well.

Use Clean Energy Yourself

This was mentioned above, but I can’t repeat it enough. If you can use clean energy yourself, in your home, your business, and all other facets of your life, you will have a smaller impact on the environment and so will your blog. An electric car that is charged by solar power when you are at home saves a huge amount of the emissions that gas powered vehicles generate.

The same can be said for powering your laptop, tablet, and phone. Solar charging helps prevent pollution in a big way, and might even be a viable everyday solution for all of your home power needs, depending on where you live. Even if you can’t use solar energy 100% of the time, using it when and where you can will go a long way in cutting back your contribution to environmental degradation.

Consider clean energy options whenever possible to reduce not only your blog’s environmental impact, but your personal one as well.

Update Your Equipment

Sounds a little backwards, right? Wrong. Newer equipment uses less energy, has longer battery life, and even emits fewer emissions over its lifetime. This is true even for eco-friendly products that were produced even just five years ago.

Since your blog will need some great photography to distinguish itself, prioritize buying newer cameras, made from recycled materials, as much as is feasible. Going even further, if you want to avoid producing more waste through the production of a new camera, consider using stock photos of nature to illustrate the beauty of the earth, and why you’re committed to protecting it, rather than shooting your own photos.

Don’t stop just with upgrading your gear; be aware of what happens to your old equipment. The US throws away hundreds of tons of electronics a year, much of which can be recycled. Check with the company you purchased from about recycling programs (Apple has some good ones) and be sure your old device either goes to a new home, or that the parts get melted down and reused as much as possible.

Newer equipment will make you and your blog more efficient, and reduce your impact on the environment.

Work from Home

This is something most bloggers do anyway, but if you work for a marketing agency or a writing company, work from home as much as your employer will allow. Most of these companies have remote workers regardless, and encourage remote work simply because it saves the company money as well.

There are other ways you can help though. Conduct interviews from home using video chat. Avoid travel when you can Skype or Facetime with someone, and use other methods of research. When you do need to travel, use green transportation when available, and limit your forays to only what is essential.

Your blog has an impact on the environment, but with a few simple tactics, you can minimize the effect you have and be kind to the Earth while you spread the word about green energy and protecting the world we all live in.

How to Help Minimize Your Blog’s Environmental Impact