10 Foods to Avoid If You Have Anxiety

1. Caffeine
A known stimulant and psychoactive drug, it has long had a reputation for triggering the body's fight or flight response. Very similar to the symptoms associated with anxiety, caffeine can also make its users feel nervous, nauseous, light headed, jittery and yes, even anxious. If you're suffering through anxiety, I recommend you reconsider that morning cup of joe and instead opt for an herbal tea or green juice.

2. Artificial and refined sugars
This is one that seems hard to ignore simply due to the fact that sugar hides in everything! Studies have shown that although sugar does not cause anxiety, it does create changes in your body which can exacerbate anxiety symptoms and impairs the body's ability to effectively cope with stress.

A sugar crash is very similar to that of a caffeine crash, and can also cause mood changes, heart palpitations, difficulty concentrating and fatigue—all of which can be interpreted as the beginning stages of an anxiety or panic attack.

3. Gluten
Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley and rye products. For many anxiety sufferers, gluten can also be a huge trigger for anxiety symptoms. Research has now confirmed that people with Celiac disease and gluten intolerances (like myself) are at higher risk for anxiety, depression and mood disorders. Talk to your doctor about getting tested for Celiac or a gluten intolerance. Cutting out gluten could be the difference between living with anxiety and managing it for the better.

4. Processed foods
Generally, processed foods are high in the previous two items mentioned on this list, including a bunch of additional additives and preservatives. Refined flours and sugars are said to feed the harmful bacteria and microbes in the gut. With more research being conducted, the general consensus is that gut health is a major contributor to chronic anxiety, and many mood disorders can be treated by proliferating good bacteria in your gut. So the next time you're at a family BBQ, bypass the grilled hot dogs and go straight for the fruit salad.

5. Alcohol
We all enjoy an occasional drink, right? But what happens when that one glass of wine at dinner turns into three glasses of wine and dessert? Alcohol in excess or at all (for some), is said to induce the symptoms of anxiety. Alcohol is a toxin that leads to improper mental and physical functioning, by negatively impacting the levels of serotonin (the feel good chemical) in the brain.

Alcohol also affects the body and nervous system and can cause hypersensitivity, increased heart rate, lowered blood sugar levels and acute dehydration. If you're going out to dinner with a few colleagues, you may want to skip the drink menu this time around.

6. Dairy
I'm sure we all remember those Got Milk ads that popped up during the commercial break of our favorite television shows. Well research shows that people who have anxiety say that they've noticed an increase in anxiety symptoms within minutes of consuming dairy products. Approximately 10 percent of adults are lactose intolerant, with even more having difficulty digesting casein, found in cow's milk. Have I mentioned it's impact on children?

Truth is, dairy is inflammatory. It wreaks havoc on the digestive system causing, bloating, diarrhea and constipation, among other things. So if you're looking for ways to manage your anxiety, I guess the answer to the question Got Milk?, should be a big, fat, NO!

7. Soda
Don't think for a second because you started a sugar cleanse a week ago that you can still indulge in America's favorite soft drink. In addition to the artificial food coloring and additives found in soda, Aspartame is one of the most common (and dangerous) ingredients found in things like diet soda and chewing gum. In addition to blocking the production of serotonin in our brains (like sugar), Aspartame is also responsible for headaches, insomnia, anxiety, mood swings and has been linked to certain forms of cancer. Still thirsty?

8. Fried foods
Not only are fried foods difficult to digest, they also have very little nutrition. Combining poor food choices with unhealthy cooking processes is a surefire way to exacerbate your anxiety symptoms. Most fried foods like french fries, chicken, onion rings, etc. are cooked in hydrogenated oil. It not only does a number on your waistline, but it's also terrible for your heart.

Fried foods are not only linked to anxiety, but also lead to high blood pressure and heart disease. Moderation is the key. The next time you find yourself at Five Guys, try the kiddie size fry instead of the large.

9. Fruit juice
Fruit juice, just like soda and other store bought beverages is packed with sugar. There are three different types of sugar: sucrose, glucose and fructose. Fructose is the sugar naturally found in fruits and vegetables, and is usually added to fruit juice and fruit flavored drinks. The problem is that the body only processed fructose in the liver and is not the body's preferred energy source. What protects us from absorbing too much fructose when we eat fruits and vegetables is the fiber. When we get rid of the fiber, we put our bodies at risk of overconsumption.

So if you want fruit juice, make it at home, and if you're an avid juicer (like me), I recommend limiting the amount of fruit you put into your green juices. Stick to the 80/20 rule and you'll be good to go.

10. Foods high in sodium
By now we should all be aware of the fat-free craze of the past few decades. The sad reality of this fad is that most foods that are fat free, are actually high in sugar and/or sodium. Researchers have concluded that too much sodium in our diets can have a negative effect on the body's neurological system, causing fatigue and damaging the immune system. A restful sleep is a major key to a healthy mind, mood and body. Not to mention, the overconsumption of sodium leads to weight gain, high blood pressure and water retention.

Salt is essential in maintaining good health and a balanced diet, however too much can trigger panic episodes and send you down a slippery slope of anxiety, panic and depression. 

17 Positive Habits That Will Change Your Life

Aristotle said, "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit." That old Greek understood how important positive habits are to overcoming adversity and enduring the quest to become a champion. I have learned that champions aren’t just born; champions can be made when they embrace and commit to life-changing positive habits.

Inspired by others, I decided to examine my own habits. I saw how quickly positive habits built strength and resulted in a deeper sense of belief—in myself, in my vision, and even spiritually. This process wasn't easy at first. I never got into any of the obvious things we think of when we talk about bad habits—drugs, drinking, or smoking—because from an early age I saw what they did to my brother and realized I didn't want to make those same mistakes. I wasn't perfect by any stretch (and achieving greatness isn't about being perfect anyway), but my bad habits were less clear. 

It took a lot of time and constant feedback to realize what wasn't working in my life, and it will be an ongoing journey until the day I die. Over the years, I began adding positive habits and noticed a dramatic change in my results and the way I felt internally as well. Some of these include:

• Constantly expressing gratitude
• Smiling at as many people as possible
• Going to bed early
• Getting 7 to 8 hours of committed sleep
• Making my bed in the morning
• Staying organized
• Acknowledging myself and others
• Loving people wherever they are on their personal journey
• Eating clean
• Training my body
• Saving and investing my money wisely
• Meditating
• Visualizing my results and creating a game plan
• Respecting others
• Investing in my personal growth
• Preparing before big moments
• Surrounding myself with inspiring people

Staying consistent with positive habits can be a challenge. I still go back and forth on them. There have been many times where I was working out intensely and in the best shape of my life, and then for whatever reason, I got off track. Before I knew it, 3 or 4 months would go by, and all of a sudden, I’d find myself exhausted halfway up a flight of stairs! The key to surviving and then thriving after these moments is to not beat yourself up when you do break a habit. Rather, you need to reconnect to your vision to refamiliarize yourself with why it’s important to stay true to your positive habits in the first place.

The tricky part about habits is that any one of them (good or bad), when you look at them individually, doesn’t seem all that critical. It’s when you take them in combination or as a whole that they become incredibly powerful. They can easily and shockingly thwart the same amount of progress that they can create. This is why we admire people with great self-discipline. It’s not because they were born great. It’s because they learned the power of habits and applied that power to create a lifestyle that supports the best version of themselves.

Life Can Be Healthy Past 90: Study

What if you could live well into your 90s and still be in good health?

A new study suggests that may be possible, particularly if you have good genes.

"Chronic disease is not an inevitable part of aging," said Dr. Sofiya Milman, an assistant professor of medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City. "An extended period of good health can accompany a long life span and is an achievable goal."

Milman is one of the authors of a U.S. National Institutes of Health-funded study on aging.

Americans are living longer than ever. In 2014, the average life expectancy at birth had reached nearly 79 years, according to the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics. A century earlier, it was just slightly over 54 years.

But gains in "health span -- the period of time that people live in good health -- have not kept pace with longevity, the study authors noted. Rather, longer life expectancy has been associated with greater disability.

Of course, some people are beating the odds, outliving their average life expectancy, surviving near the limit of the human life span, and spending fewer years sick and disabled.

How do they do it?

Using data from two previous studies, researchers from Albert Einstein and Boston University examined whether people experienced similar delays in the onset of disease and disability before death.

One study, the Longevity Genes Project, included Ashkenazi Jewish people who at age 95 were living independently. For comparison, the study also included a group of somewhat younger Ashkenazi Jews with no parental history of longevity.

The research team also drew data from the New England Centenarian Study, which included 100 year olds living in eight towns in the Boston area, as well as in England, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. It also included people without a family predisposition of exceptional longevity for comparison.

Researchers then compared the health of 439 long-lived people and their 696 somewhat younger counterparts, aged 53 to 93, from the Longevity Genes Program with the health of 1,498 long-lived participants and 302 comparison participants, aged 49 to 89, from the New England Centenarian Study.

Special:

For both sets of comparisons, researchers tracked people's ages at the onset of cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, osteoporosis and stroke. Alzheimer's disease, however, was not included because the Longevity Genes Project does not collect that data, Milman explained.

Remarkably, the long-lived participants in each study experienced disease and disability later in life, resulting in a shorter period of illness before death, compared with the younger adult groups.

The researchers assessed disease-free survival years by approximating the prevalence for each disease in older adults. Take cancer, as an example. Cancer prevalence is 20 percent for people aged 65 to 80, the study authors said.

For people in the Longevity Genes Project, the age at which 20 percent of the long-lived individuals had developed cancer was delayed to 96 for both men and women. Twenty percent of their younger counterparts, however, experienced cancer by age 78 for men and by age 74 for women, the findings showed.

Likewise, for people in the centenarian study, cancer did not strike 20 percent of men until age 97 and women until age 99. But 20 percent of their younger counterparts were afflicted by age 67 in men and by age 74 in women.

"A lot of concern is that, well, if you live a long time, you're just going to be bedridden. And what they're showing is that's not true. The people who are living longer are living healthier," said Dr. Anne Newman, director of the Center for Aging and Population Health at the University of Pittsburgh.

"Their health span was longer, and that's the important piece of it," added Newman, a professor and chair of population health sciences and epidemiology.

So what's their secret?

According to Milman, "Genetic factors are thought to be the main reason. We have identified several genetic factors that appear to slow aging and/or protect from diseases."

Environment factors -- at least among these long-lived people -- seem to be less important, she noted.

"Our centenarians were not practicing particularly healthy behaviors: 60 percent of men and 30 percent of women were smokers, less than half exercised regularly, and approximately 50 percent were overweight or obese," Milman noted.

Is Coffee Good For You? Look at Your DNA

It’s three o’clock. You’ve still got a long day ahead. You grab an afternoon coffee. Do you end up tossing and turning all night, paying the price for your indulgence? Or do you sleep like a baby as if caffeine was never in your system at all. It turns out, what happens to you is predetermined by your DNA.

There are dozens of reasons to drink or not drink coffee. Is it good for you? Is it harmful? Why can your friend drink six shots of espresso while you get the shakes if you have more than one?

Research on caffeine and coffee consumption is conflicting and confusing at best. But it seems that the reason some of us tolerate coffee better than others may lie in our genes. Certain variations in DNA allow caffeine to be processed differently by each body. Those who process caffeine very slowly are usually the ones who experience adverse side effects such as disturbed sleep when consuming too much coffee. Those who are genetically quick metabolizers are the ones who can guzzle a few shots, kick butt for a few hours and then hit the pillow, snug and serene.

According to recent research, genetics may explain the reason that coffee research is conflicting. When you separate slow metabolizers from fast metabolizers, it becomes clear that many of the adverse effects of coffee are experienced by slow metabolizerswhile fast metabolizers actually reap benefits.

For instance, coffee has long been associated with heart attack risk in conflicting ways. Recent research showed that four or more cups of coffee a day was associated with a 36 percent increased risk of heart attack. However, when looking at that data through genetics, separating the fast metabolizers from the slow, it seems that the likelihood of heart attack increased only in slow metabolizers. Those who were genetically predetermined to process caffeine quickly did not experience a significant rise in heart attack risk with increased coffee consumption. Coffee is actually healthy for some people while it is more harmful for others, which is why massive studies can yield confusing results.

This only goes to shed light on how important individuality and genetics are becoming in health and wellness research. Knowing your genetics might be the key to tailoring your diet and lifestyle to suit your individual, inherent needs. While genetics are only a part of the picture that includes environmental and lifestyle factors, they can help to round out a complete picture to help you achieve your ideal health.

So is coffee healthy? In short, some people can handle coffee, some people can’t. Knowing more about yourself means you can regulate your caffeine intake to best suit your health. The thing is, you don’t need a DNA test to understand how well you tolerate caffeine. Jut taper off your caffeine consumption for a month (I know that’s blasphemous, but it is in the name of prolonged health!) and slowly add it back in.

How do you react? Are you jittery? Are you anxious? If you experience any unpleasant symptoms, it’s probably time to tighten the belt of your coffee addiction. I know coffee is a beautiful thing, but you’ll feel a whole lot better if you drink it only occasionally. If you are a fast metabolizer and thrive on caffeine, congratulations. Just be sure not to overdo it.

How Essential Oils Affect Your Vision. What Not Enough People Know About

Essential oils are aromatic liquids distilled from plants– flowers, trees, roots, bushes, seeds– with a complex chemistry. They are much more potent than dried herbs (which are the plant parts with the essential oils mostly removed). 

So it is important to use therapeutic grade essential oils. A therapeutic-grade essential oil is one that is both complete in its chemical constituents and retains the innate coherent vibrational frequency of the original plant materials. This is important, because the oil’s fragrance, frequency and chemistry all contribute to its unique therapeutic effects.

Many of us have heard that “eating carrots can improve eyesight,” however, there are a number of essential oils that have been found to enhance vision as well as to improve the appearance of the eyes.

Caution: Never put essential oils directly on the eyes or eyelids.

Dr. Terry Friedmann, MD, eliminated his need for glasses in 1997 by applying sandalwood and juniper on the areas around his eyes– above the eyebrows and on the cheeks (careful not to get the oils anywhere near his eyes). He also took supplements, but attributes his impressive eye improvement mostly to the use of these essential oils.

I get asked a lot about essential oils and eyesight.

According to Dr Axe, “Frankincense oil has been demonstrated to improve eyesight, helichrysum oil improves vision and supports nerve tissue and cypress essential oil improve circulation which can improve macular degeneration.
Apply 3 drops of any of these essential oils 2x daily on cheeks and lateral eye area but do not put directly into eyes.”

For blurred vision you could try the following essential oils: Helichrysum, Lavender, or Peppermint. Again, apply on the areas around your eyes– above the eyebrows and on the cheeks (careful not to get the oils anywhere near your eyes).

CYPRESS: strengthens capillaries and improves circulation.
FRANKINCENSE: reduces inflammation and can reduce fine lines and wrinkles
LAVENDER: promotes tissue regeneration; is soothing for skin
LEMONGRASS: tones and assists in regeneration of connective tissue; promotes lymph flow; dilates blood vessels, strengthens vascular walls; improves circulation
SANDALWOOD: revitalizes and hydrates skin; supports circulation
And some TIPS for essential oil use for your eyes: 

Apply the oils around the eye socket of your eye. You never want to put them in your eyes because it would be quite painful! If you ever accidentally get oils in your eye, do not use water to flush it out! This only spreads the oils more. You want to use another carrier oil like olive oil, coconut oil, almond oil, etc to get them out.
And in case of emergencies or serious health problems, always consult your doctor!

The Giant Pink Bunny at Colletto Fava

On the hills of the 5,000 foot high Colletto Fava mountain in northern Italy's Piedmont region, there lies an enormous pink bunny. The toy lies on its back with arms open to the skies, from where it appears to have fallen. The fall must have been fatal, because the bunny’s side is split open and its entrails are spilled out. It’s not exactly a ghastly sight. Instead, it makes you smile.

The pink rabbit was knitted by Gelitin, a group of artists from Vienna, as an outdoor sculpture for people to climb on, relax on its belly, and generally play with. The bunny is 200 feet long and about 20 feet thick. It is made of soft, waterproof, materials and is stuffed with straw.

The bunny appeared on the hills in 2005 and was originally bright pink. Now it has turned murky grey, and is slowly rotting back into the earth. The bunny is expected to entirely disappear naturally by 2025. There are no plans to move it or save it.

Couple Travels Country In Their Tiny House They’d Built Themselves For Under $20,000 (24 pics)

Nikki Levi and Jakob Celnik quit their well-paying corporate jobs, bought a minivan, and, together with their dog, drove 38,000 miles across the Americas, which took them 16 months.Levi worked at Citigroup in New York as a high-yield credit-research analyst for four years before moving to Apple, and Celnik worked at the Blackstone Group for about three years before he moved to Soros Fund Management. In their interview with Business Insider Levi admitted that they were terrified while leaving their jobs. “But in hindsight, we shouldn’t have been … We cannot buy time, so we try to enjoy the time we do have doing the things we love, with the people and animals we love,” she said. Let’s take a look at what their incredible adventure was like.

They bought a used 2008 Dodge Sprinter 2500 high-roof van, with a 144-inch wheelbase, and with about 90,000 miles on the clock.

It was completely empty when they bought it. With little carpentry, mechanics, or construction experience, it was a process of trial and error to figure out what exactly to build and how to build it. They figured out a budget and tried to learn as much as they could by reading guides like the Sprinter forum and the Sprinter conversion sourcebook.
The bed frame was one of the first things they built.