Give me a plate of rice and chicken slathered in curry any day! The orange-ish colored sauce made from curry powder is a staple in most middle eastern and Caribbean dishes. Despite curry being ever so tasty as a reason to be included regularly into your dietary menu, its base powder has extraordinary benefits! Stimulating INgredientsWhat makes up curry powder? Its main makeup of spices consists of turmeric, curry leaves, cardamom, coriander, cumin, red and black pepper, basil, and clove. And based on various recipes from around the world, other ingredients might include the likes of mustard seeds, fennel seeds, or ginger. These spices and herbs create a distinctive taste that's unique to curry alone. But the savory spices like pepper, turmeric, cumin, and ginger give curry its spicy kick we've to associate with the powder, and in turn, the sauce. Majestic PerksThe reason curry needs to be a key player in our diets is largely due to its principal spices. The beautiful relationship of those spices is what we should be very grateful for.
Want a little bit more help with your weight loss and all-around health journey? Ginger and both red and black pepper are the spices in curry that are your guys!
Praise-worthy VarietiesCurry doesn’t come in a one size fits all. It’s heat index and popularity is about as diverse as each of the countries that call it a delicacy! Here are a few examples of rankings based on my research (not every type of curry is listed below).
If you're a curry newbie, the mildest of all curries is quite possibly Korma. Everyone's taste pallet is different. But, this one seems to be considered the one to start off with. Trying out new cuisines from around the world can help stimulate our minds and bring excitement into new experiences. You'll learn your likes and dislikes. And you could inadvertently improve your diet!
So make a plan to visit a nearby Middle Eastern dine-in restaurant. The adventure will no doubt be worth your while.
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So, it's about time we learn how to tap into that. What d'ya say? Fitness in FlexibilityStretching promotes flexibility. And when we do our little dinosaur stretch routine once we wake up, we are inadvertently doing a morning fitness routine. Being flexible is an important part of protecting our bodies during physical movement — whether high impact or low impact — from any potential injuries. It's weird that something we think of as simple as stretching does so much for us health wise. But how do we do it properly so we take full advantage of it?
The Health BenefitsStretching provides many advantages to our health. Benefits such as increasing blood flow, alleviating tension that reduces stress, improving posture, protecting mobility, keeping muscles healthy, and quieting and relaxing the mind. Timing is EverythingAre while gyms and yoga studios are open, stretching is free when done at home! Like previously stated, morning stretching is second nature but very important to increase our blood flow. Do an afternoon stretch break to alleviate the bad posture we exhibit when immersed in work. And stretching before you go to bed loosens up your muscles and helps prevent you from waking up in any sort of pain or soreness. ![]() Photo by Lyyfe Williams on Unsplash When I was a little girl, my mom used to convince me that stretching me would make me grow faster and taller. So while my 4'10" frame proves stretching doesn't solve everything, we can attests to its countless other powers. Take some time morning, noon, and night to stretch out your body for a simple, yet effective fitness routine!
Stop! Let’s think about what happens once you hit that snooze button on your phone.
Other benefits — mental, physical, and even professional — pop up when we skip hitting our snooze buttons. Finish Your Work Earlier in the Day
Knock Out Work without Any DistractionsIt's a "peaceful, easy feeling" when you're up and well into your work flow before all of the chat chimes and the email dings commence. It's difficult to shift back into work after you need to dissect an email. And don't even think about getting back into a steady groove after a meeting! Research shows it takes on average about 45 minutes to regain focus after yet another meeting. You're more alert and efficient in the morning which can translate into making better decisions. Ready To Go To Bed at a REasonable Time
Your body's internal clock is very important! When you develop a healthy sleep routine, it becomes easier to wake up earlier without feeling angry at your alarm clock. Get in that beauty sleep! Weight Loss![]() Photo by Bill Oxford on Unsplash According to research from The Obesity Society, you make better health decisions if you go to bed early and, in turn, wake up early. You tend to have a better diet and waking up early gives you more time to exercise if you so choose. It doesn't have to a hard-core HITT workout. Just a quick one for 30-minute walk, or some jumping jacks, wall sits, hip bridges, or scissor kicks. The urge to continue hitting snooze as a refusal to face the day might be a sign of anxiety or depression which can lead to overeating. All in all, early risers get more done that gets metabolisms going. iPhone users have this wonderful option to opt out of Snooze on their phone when their alarm goes off in the morning! Once you hit that Stop button, you don't get another shot at your alarm going off. Your best bet is to go ahead and get up lest you lose an entire day!
Make it count and have a good one!
But antiperspirants were. And the two are very different. Aluminum in Antiperspirants vs. DeodorantsLong story short, deodorants are meant to soak up our sweat and freshen up any odor produced by the sweat. Antiperspirants plug up the sweat glands underneath our arm pits so we sweat less or not at all. And it does so by including one key ingredient: aluminum salt. So why is aluminum a no-no and no longer found in deodorants? When absorbed after prolonged use, these salts in antiperspirants can seep into your pores and quite possibly lead to breast cancer by collecting in breast tissue and disrupting the receptors of breast cells. Also, high levels of aluminum in the body (with research pointing to aluminum in antiperspirants) can be very harmful to how we as females react to our bodies production of our main hormone: estrogen. Another thing to note is that it isn't healthy for a body not to sweat! Our bodies are built to sweat because sweating regulates our internal temperature and stops us from overheating. Now here's the gotcha. It isn't that clear how much of the aluminum in antiperspirants we actually absorb. And when absorbed, our kidneys do their job and rid our bodies of it. And some doctors even prescribe antiperspirants to those who produce too much sweat!
Alcohol and Parabens
With all of the recent research regarding deodorant, it's pretty easy to find a brand nowadays that ditches all three of these toxic ingredients! Number one on my list is Dove 0% Aluminum and it has no alcohol.
You may have heard of Native deodorant, too. That one is quite possibly the best around! Any other deodorant suggestions that is aluminum-, alcohol-, and paraben-free? Be sure to drop the name in comments below! Bonus points if it's cruelty-free, as well! There's a chance you've heard of the acronym MSG. Probably in passing when discussing fast food. Not a whole lot of stock has been put into its effects on the body until recently. First thing's first: What is MSG? It stands for monosodium glutamate. And if you're thinking, "whoa, a big science-y word!", you're not alone. I suggest you get comfortable and let Health Like Me break it down for you. (After all, isn't that why HLM is here?!) ![]() Photo by Isaiah Rustad on Unsplash MSG - SimplifiedMSG is essentially a flavor enhancer popular in Asian cooking and many processed food in the Western culture. In laymen's terms, it's just salt. But a salt that has had some negative press as of late. And a salt that can do some pretty hurtful things to our body if not taken seriously and in unhealthy quantities. Found naturally in foods like corn, tomatoes, and mushrooms (all of which are very healthy foods), and in abundance in foods that are high in protein, MSG comes from an amino acid (aka, our bodies building blocks) called glutamate, plus sodium. Which is why chemically, MSG looks like salt or sugar to us. Does this mean it's not as bad we were lead to believe? Well... Side Effects
These foods include, but are not limited to:
If you're known to divulge in MSG-laden products with caution from time to time, but still experience some pretty bad aftereffects, you might just be experiencing a mild allergic reaction. These symptoms include:
REad Your Labels
Just use your best judgement, and like I've stated before, in reduced quantities! Unlike Andy... Tell me your thoughts below! And as always, be sure to share with those close to you so they can join in our health journey.
We learned everything from how to stock pile our closets with paper towels, toilet paper, water, and hand sanitizer, to how to make bread, to how to tell clueless people to back up with merely a look. But mostly, we learned a thing or two about ourselves. For me, I learned six things.
Those who ask what the theme is always end up with a confused look on their face. Bohemian Minimalist. Yes, it is a thing. Pinterest has boards galore of this ever-clean looking aesthetic. During quarantine last year and into this year, this free-spirited wanderer got to truly express herself. And, feeling a sense of accomplishment as I took my time selecting the perfect decor while using my own money brought countless smiles to my face during a very uncertain time. I can't wait to finish it all up! 3. I neglected Health Like Me. But came back with a lot more ideas to write about! Health Like Me means so much to me. Not only because I love to write, and not only because doing this blog helps my own health journey, but because I get to see y'all benefit from and put into effect your own health choices based on some of Health Like Me's posts! I am always looking for a creative outlet. And when I pushed this blog to the side for about four months, it definitely manifested itself via my mental health. But it has returned with what I hope will be more fun content about easy ways to live a healthier life. The site's Pinterest page is ramping up, and hopefully an Instagram page will be coming soon! So keep your eyes open! Because now everyone HAD to do it. I embraced the loner part of me with no shame! And since being stuck at home was easy for me, I was able to stay healthy during the pandemic and keep those around me healthy, too. 5. My Chris Evans obsession reached an all-time high. It was pretty healthy before, but with countless nights within the safety of my apartment on Pinterest looking at amazing pictures of him, reading magazine features, re-watching interview videos of him, and amassing a pretty sizable collection of movies he's in. I mean, can you blame me? The man himself is humble, hilarious, smart, out-spoken, tatted, and loves dogs! He's also from Boston. My favorite city on this side of the Atlantic.
Comment below with one or two things you learned about yourself over the course of this pandemic and quarantine. We can't let such a difficult time hinder true introspection. Let's learn and grow!
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