Three powerful research-backed tips to up your health game
With the New Year often comes the desire for a new you, and among the top resolutions or changes that people want to make are improvements in their health and well-being. Whilst overhauling your diet and fitness routines can certainly have a huge impact on your health, making sweeping changes can often be a shock to the system, making them hard to keep up.
Studies show people are more successful when they build on small changes over time. With this in mind, here are three research-backed tips to help you look your best, feel amazing, and live a long life doing it.
1. Eat Watercress
Adding a handful of watercress to your salad or green juice is a highly underrated way to add major antioxidant power to your diet. In a studying looking at the nutrient density of 41 different fruits and vegetables, watercress came out on top – outperforming other cruciferous veg such broccoli and Brussel sprouts with its nutritional power. According to research from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, just 85g of raw watercress a day has the potential to reduce DNA damage in your body while boosting your antioxidant status.
About that same amount of watercress is also linked to improved skin tone, texture and reduced wrinkles and brown spots, with one study finding that 10 out of 11 women noticed a visible improvement in their skin when they added a bag of watercress to their diet for four weeks.
2. Don’t store your razor in the shower
Storing your razor in the wrong place can lead to a poor-quality shave which, according to a study from the International Journal of Cosmetic Science, can cause an inflammatory response in your skin, leading to soreness and inflammation.
Whilst it might seem convenient, storing your razor in the shower creates an environment for bacteria to build up and hide in the razor’s nooks
and crannies, which can lead to infection. The prolonged moisture can also create oxidation, microscopic rusting, and corrosion on the blade, leading to a rough shave.
Instead, after each shave, rinse your razor well to remove debris, and dry it on a towel before storing it in a dry place (i.e. not a puddle on the edge of the bathtub!) with the blades pointing up.
3. Use a sauna
When your body is exposed to the high levels of heat in a sauna, it leads to a beneficial form of stress that results in multiple health benefits.
According to a study from the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, people who use a sauna frequently have a reduced risk of sudden cardiac death, fatal coronary heart disease, fatal cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality. Put simply, they are more likely to live longer than those who don’t take the opportunity to relax in a sauna.
The study also revealed that the high temperatures in a sauna can actually drive up your heart rate to levels achieved by physical exercise, which may provide some of the beneficial effects of exercise. You’ll also sweat in a sauna, which helps remove toxins from your skin, and experience increased circulation to your skin, leading to a healthier-looking complexion.
This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for medical diagnosis or treatment. You should not use this information to diagnose or treat a health problem or condition. Always check with your doctor or healthcare provider before changing your diet, altering your sleep habits, taking supplements, or starting a new fitness routine.