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How to Make Exercise Fun for Kids

Kids are increasingly tech-savvy these days. Though technology has its many benefits, televisions, iPads and video games have made it even more difficult to motivate children to be active. Now, more than ever, parent’s need to ensure that their children stay on the move, learn about the importance of fitness and have fun along the way!

How can we help children get healthier? It’s all about making exercise fun for your kids and incorporating movement into your everyday life in fun and playful ways.

Here are some ways by which you can get your kid to stay on the move!

Spend time outside and activity will follow

Getting outside and connecting with nature is necessary and an easy way to build a healthy lifestyle. Let your kids play without an agenda. Stop by a park for 15-20 minutes on the way home from school or work, and let them just run around, make friends & play.

The family that exercises together stays together

Parents set the tone for mostly every part of their child’s life. Healthy habits are passed along from parents to children. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the adult to initiate an active lifestyle to make exercise fun for their children. Taking family walks together, riding bikes and playing at the pool are things that can be easily incorporated into your lifestyle.

Show your kids exercising is not something to dread

What do kids love the most? Games! If the weather is good or bad, there are always games that are active enough to do inside or out to get your kids off the couch and moving. Some active games include: Playing catch, balloon fights, hide and seek, flying kites, soccer or jumping on a trampoline.

Neighbourhood Fun

Encourage your children to play outdoors with kids who live nearby. Let your children and their friends run through in the park or play with a ball. The more friends they make, the more they will automatically want to get outside themselves.

Support them

Whatever physical activity your child chooses, be sure to encourage them. If they enjoy what they’re doing, they’ll do more of it

When your kids grow up learning that an active lifestyle is advantageous, they will automatically adapt healthy habits that will benefit the rest of their lives.

References-

https://www.thepragmaticparent.com/create-active-lifestyle-and-get-kids-to-exercise/

4 lifestyle factors that promote good health in daily life

These days, maintaining a healthy lifestyle can seem difficult among so many activities during the day. We work hard, eat what we can where we can and there is no time to rest, but maintaining a life in balance means organizing your schedules to incorporate these 4 lifestyle factors that promote good health and make you feel full and happy.

Active Lifestyle

A sedentary lifestyle is one of the great evils of our times. In order to maintain a healthy lifestyle, you should include regular physical activity and exercises in your routine. On the other hand, it also has psychological benefits and improves the quality of life.

Eating Regular Well-balanced Meals, Including Breakfast

A healthy balanced diet can keep you energetic throughout, lower your risks for the leading killer diseases such as heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, and cancers and also help you maintain a normal weight.

Consuming Alcohol in moderation or Not At All

Moderate alcohol consumption can still lead to lower risk of heart diseases but if alcohol is consumed in high levels, it leads to health and behavioral problems, including an increased risk for high blood pressure, stroke, heart disease, some cancers, accidents or violence.

Getting Adequate Amounts Of Sleep

Getting a regular amount of sleep is important to give your body a chance to restore and regenerate. Sleeping can help regenerate old cells and repair cell damage. Sleeping less than seven hours a night has been shown to have negative effects throughout your body.

References-

http://www.thehealthfullifestyle.com/10-lifestyle-factors-that-promote-good-health-daily-life/

Recognizing and Treating Wound Infection

Small hazards that lead to minor cut or injuries can sometimes be unavoidable. A cut can appear anywhere on the body. When germs get into the sensitive tissues via the cut, it is quite possible the cut may become infected. Watch out because an infection could spread any time between two or three days after the cut has occurred.

Read this blog by #SliceOfHealth to learn how to identify an infected cut, how to treat it and prevent this condition.

How to identify the cut

The skin that surrounds the cut is often red and may make you feel uncomfortable. You’ll likely notice some swelling in the affected area. As the infection develops, it may begin to discharge a yellow substance called pus.

Seek immediate medical attention if you have these signs of infection:

Redness from the infection spreads to other areas, often in streaks

You have aches and pains or a fever

You feel a general sense of malaise

These symptoms indicate that the infection has begun to spread.

How to treat an infected cut at home?

If you’ve only just begun to notice that your cut is looking a little red around the edges, you may be able to treat it at home.

Wash the infected area with soap and water
Use antiseptic solutions on the first day (not more than once)
After cleaning the wound, let it dry and apply an antibiotic ointment
Cover the wound with a bandage until new skin has developed over the wound

Tip- If the redness continues to spread or the wound begins to discharge the pus, seek medical attention ASAP.

See a doctor immediately if:

you suspect there may be a foreign body inside your cut
you can’t stop the bleeding
the cut is very large
the wound is caused by an animal or human bite

Monitor your cut closely and if you find the slightest sign of infection, treat it immediately. The earlier an infection is caught, the more quickly and easily it can be treated.

How to Make Natural Homemade Hand Sanitizer

For the times when soap and water are unavailable and your hands need to be cleaned, make sure you keep a homemade hand sanitizer handy always. On this blog by #SliceOfHealth, learn how to make hand sanitizer that is non-chemical and naturally scented. Our version of hand sanitizer can be made right at home with powerful essential oils and a few other ingredients.

Here are the go-to hand sanitizer recipes!

1.Gentle Hand Sanitizer Recipe (safe for kids)

Ingredients

¼ bottle of aloe vera gel
20 drops of germ destroyer oil (kids safe)

Instructions

Mix all ingredients and store in a reusable tube
Use when needed to naturally remove germs from hands.

2.Strong Hand Sanitizer Recipe

Ingredients

1 tb Aloe Vera
2 tb Alcohol
½ tb Vitamin Oil
16 drops of tea tree oil
8 drops lavender essential oil

Combine all ingredients together in a bowl. Store it in a small jar or a squeeze tube

Arm yourself with those natural hand sanitizer recipes. Tell us if you have ever made your own hand sanitizer! If yes, how did it turn out?

References:

https://livesimply.me/2014/09/17/diy-hand-sanitizer/

4 Yoga Tips for Women Over 60

If you’re over 60, the very thought of starting practicing yoga can seem a little daunting. You might be thinking… “There’s no chance that my knees can handle IT!” The most wonderful thing about yoga is that ANYONE of any age and experience level can do it. The key is to practice it on a regular basis.

If you’ve taken the plunge and decided to start practicing, kudos to you! You’re going to love the way you feel after you’ve been doing it for a while. Here are some tips to start your new yoga practice safely!

1. It’s How You Do It, Not How Much or How Often

The quality of time you spend on the mat is way more important than how much time or how long were you able to hold on to a pose. Try doing all kinds of poses you feel comfortable with at your own pace.

2.Find the right studio or teacher

Some yoga studios offer gentle yoga and classes for seniors. It might be helpful, though, to start with a class that’s geared towards senior citizens. It will take time for you to get comfortable and learn the basics of yoga. You could later move into a regular class after you get a hang of it.

3. Go easy on yourself

Give your body time to get comfortable with the basic poses and to build up strength in muscles you probably haven’t used in a long time.

4.Practice with a smile

It can be hard to learn something new, and most of the time when we are doing a new type of exercise, we strain, fuss, and groan. So, put a smile on your face because that is the right way.

If you enjoy yourself while you’re doing yoga, you’ll probably stick with it. Life is short, so find joy in everything you do, including yoga! Feel free to leave a comment below if you liked this article or if you have any more yoga tips to share for women over 60!

Can You Use Tea Tree Oil for Skin Tags?

Tea tree oil and skin tags

Tea tree oil is an essential oil for skin that is derived from the leaves of the Australian tea tree (Melaleuca alternifolia). It has been proved that tea tree oil dehydrates skin tags, causing them to dry up and fall off. Skin tags are not harmful but they can be unsightly and uneasy when they grow in delicate locations such as on your face or armpits.

You can find tea tree oil in any leading cosmetic stores or online shopping sites.

Dehydrating effects of tea tree oil

Tea tree oil is also an effective treatment for acne. It helps kills bacteria and helps dry up pimples. It’s possible that tea tree oil could also help dry up skin tags.

How to use tea tree oil on skin tags

Use a tea tree oil solution:

Soak a cotton ball in tea tree oil
Use a bandage or a piece of tape to secure the cotton ball to your skin tag
Let it sit overnight
Repeat nightly until the skin tag falls off.

Tip- Discontinue if you experience any kind of irritation.

Use a combination of 100 percent tea tree oil and apple cider vinegar:

Soak a cotton ball in the apple cider vinegar and add a few drops of tea tree oil
Use tape to secure the cotton ball to your skin tag.
Leave in place for 10 to 15 minutes.
Rinse the area with soap and water and repeat thrice a day

Tip- Never use this vinegar mix near your eyes.

If you have skin tags, try these two effective DIY methods to get rid of your skin tags and tell us if they worked!

Mood Disorders: How to Recognize and Treat Them

If your emotions and moods seem out of your control over a long period of time, you may have a mood disorder. There are several different types, and all of them can be treated. Knowing the different signs of mood disorders can help you —or someone you know — get the treatment

What is a mood disorder?

Moods are universal. Most of us have them. But mood disorders can be hard to spot, which is why we give you three tell-tales signs to identify mood disorders.

Intense Mood Swings
Gradual onset (over several weeks or months, not hours or days)
Nothing you tried ‘ to snap yourself out of it’ helped.

What are the symptoms?

Persistent sadness is a common and a recognizable symptom. Other symptoms include excessive irritability, weight gain or weight loss, disrupted sleep and very low energy.

Is there a cure to mood disorders?

There could be numerous causes of depression and most cases respond well to medication. But remember that medication is never the only way. When people get depressed, they start to think differently – this is where therapy comes in, in particular cognitive behavioural therapy helps patients recognize distorted thinking patterns and tries to get them like how they were before.

Don’t be afraid to admit if you are struggling with a mood disorder and remember that you not alone. Don’t fear being misunderstood, judged or think that you’ll receive backlash from friends and family.

Call a friend or loved one and admit it today. Although there is momentary discomfort, you will experience freedom in admitting your struggle with depression.

References-

https://themighty.com/2016/08/why-you-are-afraid-to-admit-you-have-depression/

Vegetarian Diets: Better for Us Than We Thought

According to the researchers, if everyone ate a vegetarian diet, nearly most of our health issues could be prevented. Experts agree to this but feel that switching to vegetarian isn’t that simple.

On this blog by #SliceOfHealth we’ll look at some suggestions and tips for becoming a vegetarian without facing too many challenges, and some reasons why you might actually want to consider it.

Advantages of Vegetarianism

Vegetarian diets are tied to a lower risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity, cancer, and chronic diseases. A study in 2013 funded in part by the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) found that vegetarians had a nearly 10 percent lower risk of developing cancer than non-vegetarians.

Leaning more toward a healthy vegetarian diet can strengthen the immune system and overall, cancer cases could be prevented by following a healthy diet and maintaining a healthy weight.

How to Become a Vegetarian, the Easy Way

1. Find good recipes

Look through some recipes online, take note of a few that look really good, and decide to try a few of them because you have the rest of your life to try and test out other dishes!

2.Consider dairy & eggs

If you go meatless for a while and want to try to go a little further consider dairy foods. Buttermilk, yoghurt, milk and eggs are a good choice.

3.Vegetarian snacks

There are lots of other yummy snacks you can eat. Roasted (or raw) almonds, hummus low-fat granola, berries with yoghurt, whole-grain cereals, … dozens and dozens of snacks.

4.Vegetarian restaurants

Give them a try! You might discover some wonderful food, and thank the lucky stars you decided to give vegetarianism a try. Otherwise, most restaurants will have some vegetarian options or can cook you a vegetarian dish on request.

5. Tell friends & family

If you’re really going to become a vegetarian, you’ll have to talk to the people you know about it as you’ll still be dining with them, at restaurants, at their homes, at social gatherings, at work, and so it’ll be better for everyone involved if they know what you’re doing.

References-

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/alex-ivanovs/5-lessons-learned-from-sw_b_7741874.html

Guide to hydration during sports!

Proper hydration is necessary during your workout session. Learn how to drink enough before, during and after your workouts to give your best performance. #SliceOfHealth provides a guide on how you can stay hydrated while playing sports or during your workouts.

Pre-workout hydration

Make sure that your body is hydrated before you engage in any form of physical activity. This will help maintain the fluid levels in your body as you keep up with your activities.

During-workout hydration

A considerable amount of fluid from your body is lost during sports or workouts. Whenever you get short breaks when playing, take that opportunity to hydrate yourself. The intensity at which you lose body fluids most often depend on the intensity of your sport or exercise. Activities that exceed more than 40-60 minutes will need one to hydrate during the process.

Post-workout hydration

After a practice or a workout session, drink to quench your thirst and then drink some more. Drinking after intensive or a powerful workout is also essential for the body to recover as a lot of fluid is lost through sweating when working out.

Best Drinks for Hydration

There are a couple of fluid options you can try with water being the most popular fluid you will find. It is also advisable to drink fruit juices and milk, which are also useful when it comes to body hydration as they contain nutrients that are good for fitness. Drinks that contain caffeine can also be consumed.

Reference: https://www.active.com/nutrition/articles/how-to-hydrate-before-during-and-after-a-workout

Hypoglycemia and Diabetes: Is there a link?

About Hypoglycemia

Blood sugar main source of energy. When a person has an abnormally low blood sugar level, their body’s ability to adequately function may be impaired as a result. This condition is called hypoglycemia, and it’s officially defined as a blood glucose level of below 70 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL).

Very often, hypoglycemia occurs in people who suffer from diabetes. Let us understand the link between these two.

Symptoms

anxiety

heart palpitations

hunger

sweating

Blurred vision

It is important to measure your glucose level if you have any of these symptoms to know if they are caused by a blood glucose problem or another condition.

Causes

If you have diabetes, you may take insulins or consume drugs that will help your body lower your blood sugar level. In the event you take too much insulin relative to the amount of glucose in your bloodstream and experience a blood sugar level drop. This can cause hypoglycemia.

Complications

Ignoring the symptoms of hypoglycemia can be dangerous. A lack of glucose may shut your brain down or leave you unconscious.

Untreated hypoglycemia can lead to:

loss of consciousness

seizure

death

Prevention

The solution to preventing a future problem like hypoglycemia is first by understanding what caused the issue in the first place and then carefully following your diabetes management plan.

If you’re a caretaker for someone with diabetes who begins experiencing symptoms of hypoglycemia, seek emergency help immediately.

https://www.healthline.com/health/type-2-diabetes/hypoglycemia#symptoms

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