Breakthrough light bulb heals migraines!
Planning to wear green in honor of St. Patrick’s Day? Don’t stop there! Keep green in your life every day in other ways—by, say, sipping green tea, snacking on pistachios and decorating with plants—and you’ll slim down faster, boost your health, rev your
Keep your mood sunny with potted plants!
Ferns . . . spider plants . . . English ivy . . . aloe . . . it doesn’t matter what type of greenery you choose, only that you surround yourself with more! Mounting evidence proves that having lots of houseplants prompts an immediate uptick in your mood— and lowers your risk of depression in the years to come! ✤ It really works! Our brains are naturally wired to release relaxation- and happiness-boosting chemicals in the presence of nature, so the more you’re surrounded by it, the better you’re protected from blue moods and stress— even in tense times! Bonus: Being “under the influence of plants” heightens your concentration and productivity, plus boosts your memory by up to 20%, according to a University of Michigan study.
Mellow out with guacamole!
Easily irritated by small annoyances? Eat more avocado and less butter and other foods high in saturated fat, and you’ll feel calmer within three weeks, reveals research. Saturated fat triggers brain inflammation, which shortens your fuse, while the healthy monounsaturated fat in avocados stops tension in its tracks!
2 Shed pounds faster with green tea!
Wish there were a way to make your diet work faster? There is! Drink three cups of green tea daily, and the numbers on the scale will start dropping significantly faster within three weeks! ✤ It really works! Numerous studies show that catechins in green tea leaves set off a cascade of slimming benefits—they help you burn more fat during exercise, reduce the absorption of carbohydrates from food, curb hunger and increase your body’s supply of calorie-burning brown fat! Lose even faster with lime! Add a squeeze of lime to your green tea, and you’ll absorb five times more slimming catechins, reveals research. That’s because lime juice blocks the breakdown of catechins during digestion!
3 Ease migraine pain with green light!
As migraine sufferers know, sunlight and most indoor light make the head-pounding pain more intense. The exception: a spectrum of green light that actually reduces migraine pain! ✤ It really works! According to the journal Brain, light-sensitive cells in the eye respond to pure green light by reducing pain sensitivity 20%! Want to try it yourself? The Illuminati Super Green 5w LED Night Light ($20.21, Growlifeeco.com) shines a green light spectrum similar to the one used in the study.
Seeing green spurs creativity!
Look at something green, such as a lush lawn, before brainstorming a solution to a problem! Seeing green prompts folks to come up with far more creative ideas than seeing other colors, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin reports.
Avoid 4 Type 2 diabetes with pistachios!
Been told you’re at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes and want to reverse course pronto? Eat two ounces of pistachios daily! The journal Diabetes Care reports that adults with prediabetes who enjoyed this delicious snack lowered their blood-sugar and insulin levels—and burned more sugar instead of storing it as fat—within four months. By contrast, another group of prediabetics who followed the exact same diet—minus the pistachios—saw their bloodsugar and insulin levels rise, nudging them closer to the disease. ✤ It really works! Antioxidants, phytochemicals, fiber and other compounds in pistachios help regulate hormones that control your body’s response to glucose and curb the inflammation linked to the onset of Type 2 diabetes.
And serve more salads!
Eat leafy greens regularly? Up your intake by a little more than one extra serving per day and your risk of Type 2 diabetes will drop 14%, reports the British Medical Journal. Magnesium, alpha-linoleic acid and other nutrients in spinach, romaine lettuce, kale and other leafy greens prod your body to use insulin more efficiently, so you steer clear of blood-sugar woes!
5Get more get-up-and-go with green tomatoes!
If everyday tasks seem a bit more taxing, it’s not your imagination! Muscles typically shrink over time, so you tire out faster! The fix: Eat more green tomatoes! ✤ It really works! University of Iowa researchers discovered that tomatidine, a compound found only in green tomatoes, blocks the action of genes that cause muscle deterioration, preserving your strength and stamina! Find green tomatoes in supermarkets now or at farmers’ markets, and enjoy eating them fried, sautéed, in stews or in sauces.