Mandeep Falco Media

09/12/2019

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Don't live on a steady diet of hot chocolate Chilly winter weather affects more than just your wardrobe and heating bill. Your body also experiences changes in energy levels, metabolism and even food prefer Do you react to bitter cold by skipping the gym and convincing yourself you deserve a c

08/21/2019

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With summer upon us it is important to stay "cool" with delicious and fun drinks! Your friends/kids/family will love these ideas. They are super easy and ver...

08/13/2019

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08/07/2019

REAP THE BENEFITS OF A WHOLE-FOOD, PLANT-BASED DIET
Improved health and an improved sense of well-being are within your grasp when you take charge of your diet. Food is big business in the United States, and it's nearly impossible to walk into a grocery store without buying something that has added sugar or chemical preservatives designed to make whatever's in that box last for months and get you hooked on its flavor. While processed foods may taste good, there's mounting evidence that they're causing real harm to the human body.

Fortunately, it's well within your power to change your life by changing your diet. When you embrace a plant-based diet based on whole foods and home cooking instead of Frankenfoods put together in a factory, your body will get what it needs to run efficiently and help you live your best life. Here's everything you need to know to get started on your journey toward better health.

WHAT IS A WHOLE-FOOD, PLANT-BASED DIET ANYWAY?
For most Americans, it's easy to grasp the meaning of the plant-based aspect of this eating style. Your goal is to have most or all of your diet come from plants instead of animal sources. This means that your go-to foods should include plenty of the following:

Vegetables: leafy greens, broccoli, brussel sprouts, carrots, cauliflower, cucumbers, garlic, green beans, green peas, onions, peppers, sweet potatoes, tomatoes
Fruits: apples, avocados, bananas, berries, grapefruits, grapes, lemons, limes, melons, oranges, pineapples
Beans and Legumes: black beans, chickpeas, kidney beans, lentils
Nuts and Seeds: almonds, cashews, walnuts, chia seeds, flax seeds, h**p seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds
Whole Grains: brown rice, oats, whole wheat, spelt, quinoa, millet, barley, farro, pasta
Healthy Fats: coconut oil and olive oil
Choosing foods that come from plants is simple, but how do you know you're getting whole foods? Whole foods are items that you consume as close to their natural state as possible; for example, a whole apple is a whole food, but sweetened applesauce with preservatives and artificial coloring is not. Whole wheat flour is technically a processed food because it's been milled and altered from its natural form, but it is a single ingredient that can still be considered a whole food for nutritional purposes. In general, you want to choose the most minimally processed foods you can to get the biggest health benefits from your meals.

WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU MAKE THE SWITCH
Great things are in store for you when you begin to embrace a whole-food, plant-based diet! Though you might feel limited in your options at first -- helpful tips on dealing with that below -- your body will thank you. You'll feel more energetic and balanced, and your body will begin to heal itself of chronic diseases, so many of which result from the typical American diet.

BENEFITS OF A PLANT-BASED DIET INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:
PREVENTING DAMAGE AT THE CELLULAR LEVEL
Your DNA is the code that tells your cells how to reproduce themselves, but when that code is damaged, your body suffers. Free radical damage alters the structure of your DNA and can cause premature aging of the body as cells struggle to replicate themselves. Whole foods filled with antioxidants help stop this damage in its tracks.

PREVENT AND EVEN REVERSE CHRONIC DISEASE
The typical American diet is notoriously connected to a whole host of chronic diseases, including obesity, Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and even dental diseases. When you eliminate saturated fats from an overload of animal products and replace them with whole fruits and vegetables, you'll lose weight and reverse the effects of these deadly diseases.

IMPROVED ENERGY THAT LASTS ALL DAY
In addition to saturated fats and cholesterol, another culprit in the typical American diet that's especially prevalent in processed foods is added sugar. While the body needs sugar for energy, too much can wreak havoc on your moods and lead to intense cravings. Cutting processed foods eliminates an enormous amount of "hidden" sugar that food makers tuck into their products and leaves you feeling more energetic -- no sugar crashes in sight.

DETOXIFICATION
Different plants have different nutritional profiles, and some help your body better absorb minerals and nutrients in your diet. Other foods perform an equally important but opposite service by helping the body get rid of unwanted waste and free radicals. High-fiber foods, such as whole grains and vegetables, also help the digestive system get rid of waste quickly.

BALANCED HORMONES
Whole-food diets help balance the body's hormones naturally by supporting the endocrine system. For example, when your thyroid gets the iodine it needs from whole grains, it can better regulate your metabolism overall. Likewise, nutrient-rich whole foods help decrease the production of harmful cortisol - also known as the "stress hormone." A plant-based diet also eliminates the possibility of ingesting growth hormones that are often added to commercial animal feed.

IMPROVED GUT HEALTH
Your digestive tract is full of natural bacteria that helps you digest food and keep disease at bay, but a diet full of processed foods can wreak havoc on its delicate balance. Vegetables such as garlic and radishes help nourish these friendly bacteria to keep your digestive tract's microbiome going strong.

CLEARER SKIN
Low-glycemic diets -- that is, diets that are low in sugar -- lead to clearer skin and can help prevent breakouts of acne. When you replace processed sugar with a rainbow of antioxidant-packed fruits and veggies, you help prevent aging and skin damage.

REDUCED INFLAMMATION
Although inflammation can be a helpful response when your immune system is fighting off an infection, daily inflammation caused by a poor diet will leave you in pain. Red meat and refined carbohydrates are typical culprits, but a whole-food, plant-based diet automatically cuts your consumption of these inflammatory foods and replaces them with healthier alternatives.

REDUCE BLOOD CHOLESTEROL LEVELS
Speaking of red meat, it's also high in saturated fat and cholesterol, which can lead to clogged arteries, heart attacks and stroke. Switching away from animal proteins to a plant-based diet helps you cut way back on foods that cause high cholesterol, paving the way for good health and longevity.

REDUCED IMPACT ON THE PLANET
Raising animals for meat takes far more resources than raising fruits and vegetables, so a plant-based diet is a sound environmental choice. You'll also help reduce the demand for methane-producing cattle and -- if you rely on local farmers markets -- the fossil fuels required to ship food long distances.

HOW TO START WHOLE-FOOD, PLANT-BASED EATING TODAY
If you're ready to start living a healthier lifestyle but aren't sure where to start, relax! Making a series of changes is much easier than trying to go cold turkey, and you're likely to stick to the plan if you take slow, deliberate steps in the right direction. Here's how to begin.

CONSCIOUS CHOICES ARE BETTER THAN COUNTING CALORIES
You'll drive yourself crazy if you try to account for every super-nutrient you hear about on the news -- so don't. Instead of counting calories and denying yourself the things you enjoy, focus on designing delicious meals based on all the ingredients you should be eating. When you fill your fridge and pantry with whole foods, you'll have them on hand to cook with. Just plan meals that feature ingredients from several of the categories listed above, and the sheer variety will ensure you get the nutrients you need. Best of all, you can eat as much as you want when you're making healthy choices to begin with!

GRADUALLY REPLACE PROCESSED FOODS WITH WHOLE FOODS
Trying to quit all the foods you enjoy at once is nearly impossible, so start with a conscious decision to replace one item with a healthier choice. If you love sweets, start by replacing Oreos with apple slices for a snack. Love crackers? Choose a whole-grain product with no added sugar. Replace sweetened yogurts with a coconut milk version, adding a handful of berries instead. Eventually, your cravings will subside and your palate will awaken to the incredible flavor and variety of a whole-food diet -- but you don't have to deny yourself everything at once to get there. Just continue to crowd out unhealthy foods with better choices until you're eating only the good stuff.

PAINT YOUR PLATE WITH A RAINBOW OF FOOD
To help get the full range of nutrients that protect you against inflammation, chronic disease and aging, challenge yourself to make each meal a rainbow of color. When it comes to fruits and vegetables, different colors indicate different phytonutrients, so aim for a green salad dotted with red, orange and purple for a range of vitamins and minerals. Creating a beautiful plate will also make your plant-based meals more appealing to all your senses, allowing you to fully enjoy the pleasures of eating.

DON'T BE AFRAID OF FATS
When you switch to a whole-food, plant-based diet, you're automatically embracing a low-fat diet. There's no need to cut back any further; in fact, your body needs healthy fats to survive and thrive. Avocados, olive oil, nuts and seeds are all nutrient-rich sources of healthy fats that will keep your body feeling satisfied and full longer, so add them to your cooking for flavor and good health.

SAY NO TO ADDED SUGAR
One of the biggest hurdles for many Americans to overcome is their sweet tooth. Almost every processed food has sugar added to it these days, and retraining your brain to respond to the natural sweetness in whole foods takes a bit of time. To help speed that process along, avoid foods with added sugar as much as possible, and skip the sugar or honey in your tea as you wean yourself off the sweet stuff. Once your body adjusts, you'll notice that fruit tastes much sweeter and your cravings disappear.

Embracing a whole-food, plant-based diet is one of the greatest gifts you can give your body. By supplying it with all the energy-rich foods it needs while protecting it from the processed food that causes chronic disease, you will enjoy a lifetime of improved health, energy and mood. Simply put: The whole-food, plant-based diet will transform your life.

08/03/2019

foods that feed the skin, hair and nails, and nourish the body
Beauty on the outside begins – naturally – on the inside. To have glowing skin, strong nails and shining hair you must feed your body the right foods so it can thrive. What kinds of foods are these? They are whole, raw, nourishing ones. Cooked whole foods can do wonders for your body but often raw foods deliver more nutrients and hydration and obviously – less processing is required.

Fruits and greens are the most important foods to eat raw. Vegetables, beans and grains can be cooked gently (preferably without oil). If you want to achieve natural, radiant beauty, you need to eat wholesome, honest foods that will build that beauty for you. We literally are what we eat; if you eat processed junk food, it will show in your skin!

Excellent methods of getting the most nutrition out of your food are juicing and blending. Juicing extracts just the liquids so the nutrients from the foods enter your blood stream within minutes. Blending helps make digestion easier because your food is already ready to be absorbed!
The first step to finding your unique, special beauty is creating a foundation of health by eating healthful foods. When you fuel your body properly and respectfully, it will thank you. By eating right and exercising regularly you can achieve your ideal weight and look amazing. When you look amazing – you feel even better. Real beauty is confidence, and confidence starts with health and happiness... so let’s get started!

When you want lustrous hair, strong nails and radiant skin, all you have to do is eat foods that nourish your body! You want foods that are hydrating, with large amounts of vitamins, healthy fats and minerals.
Vitamin C plays a role in building collagen which keeps your skin smooth and tight; so citrus fruits and other fruits and veggies are excellent for healthy skin. Examples are grapefruit, bell peppers, oranges, and lemons.

Vitamin A is an antioxidant and therefore it helps with anti-aging and cell repair. Foods with vitamin A are usually red, orange or green (think sweet potatoes, carrots, peppers, and leafy greens).

Moving on to those healthy fats! Nuts, seeds and avocados contain vitamin E as well as Omega 3’s; they are excellent at keeping the skin youthful and soft by protecting it from sun damage and keeping it moisturized. Almonds, walnuts, flax seeds, quinoa and h**p seeds are excellent choices.
Some minerals that are necessary for healthy skin, hair and nails are selenium, zinc. Selenium maintains your skins elasticity can be found in mushrooms and whole grains. Zinc protects cell membranes and plays a role in collagen production; great sources of zinc are nuts (peanuts, cashews, pine nuts, etc.), beans (chickpeas, black beans, etc.) and whole grains like brown rice.

07/31/2019

Here’s How To Help Your Body Adjust So You’re Not Tired All The Time
While many of you are looking forward to gaining an hour of sleep this weekend, your body may not be so excited about it, as its internal rhythm will want to take about a week or so to adjust to the confusion of the time change. The result of this confusion may be irritability, difficulty falling asleep, or waking up too early and can leave you feeling tired, groggy, and moody—especially if you’re not getting enough sleep to begin with.

I normally suggest that people start getting their sleep schedule regulated about two weeks before Daylight Saving Time (DST) ends—by getting to sleep about 30 minutes earlier—you can benefit from following these simple tips right now to ensure that you smoothly adjust to the time change and are able to stay energized and happy:

1. Always practice good sleep hygiene.
Make sure you continue to go to bed and wake up at the same time every night and day, respectively. If you are tired during the day, you can nap but ensure that it is no more than 20 minutes long. If you are someone whose sleep is negatively affected by naps, do not nap, but take 10 minutes during your day to listen to a guided meditation while sitting quietly. Create a quiet, dark, and peaceful environment in your bedroom without electronics or work-related projects. Keep the temperature in your bedroom cool between 60 and 75 degrees. Getting high-quality sleep will help your body adjust as quickly as possible.

2. Aim to exercise during the day, not in the evening.
Rigorous exercise during the day will help you feel tired by evening and ready to curl up in bed for some shut-eye. Plan on 30 minutes of moderate exercise a day (gentle enough that you can have a conversation while doing it), which may include walking, biking, swimming and so forth and/or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise (you cannot have a conversation) in total for the week.

3. Make sure you get some sunlight exposure.
To ensure your melatonin levels are regulated—which will help your body’s rhythm adjust—you want to make sure you are exposed to sunlight during the day. Go for a walk, even for 10 minutes, in a garden or park. As I mentioned, it’s also a good idea to avoid electronics, especially your smartphone, for at least an hour before bed as the blue light will offset your melatonin levels. If necessary, get yourself a light therapy box to use at least during the initial week after the time change—if not for the duration of the fall and winter.

4. Meal prep.
When your sleep is off, your appetite may increase, and you can crave sugar-filled comfort foods, which will often make you feel worse. Prepare your meals ahead of time, and make sure they’re loaded with antioxidants, healthy fats, proteins, and carbohydrates. This means a ton of dark leafy greens, other vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds, grass-fed beef, fish, avocado, and coconut oil. Make sure that you prepare snacks for yourself to take care of the munchies when they arise. Make sure that you also stay hydrated, so bring your big jug of water with you wherever you go. These four tips will give your body the extra TLC it needs to take on the time change without a hitch.

07/29/2019

If You Do Only One Thing For Your Anxiety – Make It This
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, approximately one in five adults in the United States – approximately 43.8 million – experiences mental illness in a given year and approximately one in 25 adults in the United States – 9.8 million – experiences a serious mental illness in a given year that substantially interferes with or limits their ability to do normal activities.

In other words, if you suffer from anxiety or depression or another form of mental illness, you are not alone. Unfortunately, the statistics are quite as gruesome for children, and the question many of us have in health care is “Why?”

Why are so many people plagued by anxiety?
We may not have a concrete answer to this question, but it could just be that more and more people are living in large, busy cities, where noise and air pollution, high stress, business, and lack of nature are the rule rather than the exception. Indeed, observational and experimental studies have shown that noise exposure leads to annoyance, sleep disturbances, sleepiness, an increased incidence of high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease, and impairs cognitive performance in schoolchildren.

Air pollution has been associated with psychological distress and social isolation. Along with a lack of exposure to nature, it is not surprising that more individuals living in cities—which are usually loud, busy, crowded, and polluted—find themselves more depressed or anxious than those individuals who reside in more rural environments. If this pertains to you, don’t fret. A dose of nature might just be the best thing you can do to combat your anxiety.

Is nature really the best thing for my anxiety?
fMRI studies show that nature works by stimulating the release of feel-good chemicals in the brain like dopamine, which help you feel happier. Studies also show that the closer to you live to green space, the better you are at bouncing back from stressful situations. Immersing yourself in nature has been associated with less activity in fear centers of the brain, lower levels of stress hormones, steadier heart rate, lower blood pressure, and reduced muscle tension. You can’t get that from one single supplement!

Now, you might be wondering whether you should be moving out into the country to save your mental health. And while that is one solution, luckily, there are a ton of ways to bring more nature into your life. These tips will help soothe your nervous system, combat anxiety, and support optimal mental health:

1. Make time for nature.
Prioritize time away from your busy life to visit a national park, beach, or forest. Whether it is taking a hike for the day, camping, or luxuriating at a spa in a natural setting for a weekend, aim to do it at least once a week—or once a month if it’s a weekend.

2. Bring plants into your home.
To get a daily dose of the outdoors, bring nature into your home with plants, photographs of nature scenes, or by listening to guided meditations that involve scenes of nature. There are a ton of great meditation apps out there, and many of them incorporate scenes and sounds of nature.

3. Start a garden.
Start a garden outside or inside, taking 20 minutes a day to nurture the soil, water the vegetation, or simply admire what you’ve sown. If and when what you have created does grow or bloom, eat it! Eating something you have grown yourself will tie you closer to nature and make you feel more connected.

4. Head to the farmers market.
Spend time at farmers markets, which are held once a week in most towns or cities. Laze around, ask the farmers questions as you find out more about produce and how it’s grown. Buy the fresh fruits, vegetables, or meats for your home and savor the homegrown flavors. The closer your diet is to nature, the healthier your microbiome will be, which also has a strong influence on your mental health.

5. Take your workout outside.
Exercise, walk, meditate, or simply relax in the nearest park. Most cities have now designated parks for people to relax, play, and stroll. Take advantage of these areas with the aim of walking mindfully, while engaging all of your senses to be in the experience, for 20 minutes daily.

07/25/2019

8 Proven Benefits of a High Protein Diet
The concept of eating more protein is no longer just followed by bodybuilders or professional athletes. Today, it is a mainstream concept that is followed by people the world over. There remains a lot of confusion about how much protein to take, whether it is safe or not, and what are the actual benefits of a high protein diet. Read on to learn proven benefits of a high protein diet.

Aside from the benefits of increased muscle mass and reduction of body fat, increased protein intake is associated with many other health benefits.

The amino acids that make up proteins are required for healthy cells, bone formation, and nail and hair growth. They are also an integral part of almost all functions within the body.

Are you now interested in getting more protein in your diet?

These Benefits of a High Protein Diet That Will Convince You to Add More Protein to Your Diet:
1. Muscular development
Combining resistance-based activities such as weight training with higher levels of protein intake is proven to stimulate lean muscle development. Your body is constantly breaking down muscle and rebuilding it, especially when doing weight-based activities. If you are consuming enough protein and providing the body with amino acids to help repair and grow your muscles, then over time you will increase the levels of lean muscle mass in your body.

Another huge benefit from having more lean muscle is an increasing your resting metabolic rate. This means that you are burning more energy naturally, without exercise.

2. Reduce calorie intake
Protein-based foods tend to be more filling and satisfying, so eating more of them in your diet can result in less calories being consumed. Reducing the total amount of calories eaten every day can help you manage your weight more easily.

3. Increase overall daily calorie burn
Your body will utilize a lot more energy to break down and digest protein properly, than foods lower in protein such as fats or carbohydrates. Protein compared to fats and carbohydrates requires more than double the amount of calories to become metabolized, which is known as the thermic effect.

4. Increase potential for fat loss
When you combine increased muscle mass, more satiety from your meals and an overall higher metabolic rate due to extra muscle and the thermic effect of eating more protein, your body has more potential to lose body fat. You still need to be in an overall energy deficit to lose body fat, but having this combination of factors makes dieting much more effective and easier to sustain than other methods of body fat reduction.

5. Gain more strength from your training
If you are involved in activity that requires a certain level of strength, then expect your strength levels to increase with increased protein intake. This is due to the combination of extra muscle development and quicker recovery from your training.

6. Stronger tendons and faster recovery from injury
If you supply the body with protein after your workouts, this helps strengthen and repair the tendons and other connective tissue so your body has less chance of injury and is better prepared for further exercise.

7. Better sleep patterns
If you struggle to get a good night’s sleep, then increasing protein in your diet may help. This research explains the results of two randomized studies on obese and overweight adults. After a 12-weeks trial, they concluded that a “greater proportion of energy from protein while dieting may improve sleep in overweight and obese adults.” If you still have problems getting to sleep on a high protein diet, then a small amount of carbs in your evening meal can help by increasing serotonin levels, making you more drowsy and ready for sleep.

8. Better quality of life
If you want robust health and the ability to perform well, then strength, mobility, muscle mass, staying lean and having good internal functionality are vital. Increasing protein intake alone will not deliver all these benefits. However, as part as an overall diet and fitness program, it can have a significant impact that will give you a much better quality of life both now and as you age.

A high protein diet can make a difference to your overall health and performance, if combined with the appropriate exercise program and lifestyle choices.

If the bulk of your protein sources are from animal products, this can cause acidity in the body. You can balance this out by integrating more alkaline foods into your diet, such as certain fruits and vegetables.
With regard to daily intake, it depends on your activity levels and fitness goals. For general exercise and managing weight, a good starting point is 0.6-0.8 grams per pound of bodyweight. If you were reducing calories to lose weight, it is recommended that you increase this figure to around 1.2 grams per pound of bodyweight until you have reached your target weight.

For athletes or serious trainers looking to build muscle and strength, the 1-1.5 grams per pound of bodyweight is a good number to aim for and then track results.

No matter your health and wellness goals, there are many benefits of a high protein diet. Protein is intake is crucial, and a high protein diet may help you reach your health goals.