Physical Vs Mental Fitness
There is but one way to live life to its fullest- being fit. Understanding the benefits of all-round fitness and knowing how active you should make it easier to improve the overall quality of your life. To help you live better, here’s how you can benefit from mental and physical exercise regardless of your age, sex or physical ability.
When talking about fitness, both mental and physical fitness come into play. More often than not, physical fitness gets plenty of attention, and for a good reason. A healthy body can counter conditions such as heart disease and diabetes, and help you maintain confidence as you age.
However, mental fitness is just as important as physical fitness, and should not be neglected in your self-betterment plans.
Mental fitness means having a brain and emotional health in tip-top shape. It may not necessarily mean training to ace an IQ test, but a series of exercise that helps slow down, decompress and boost a flagging memory.
Aerobics (cardio)
Aerobics involves maintaining an increased heart rate for an extended period of time. Types of cardio exercises include running, swimming, biking, rowing, dancing, and jumping rope.
Strength
Also called Resistance Training. It’s a physical activity with the purpose of increasing muscle strength and mass. Examples include weightlifting, dumbbell and bodyweight exercises.
Balance
This is where you activate your abdominal muscles for stability and control of your body. Balance exercises can include yoga, tai chi and stability ball exercises.
Flexibility
Bragging about how much you can bench is no fun if you have trouble tying your shoes. Flexibility saves you from tight hips, hamstrings, hip flexors and makes you as strong as you can be.
Why you need to be fit and importance of physical fitness
Weight control leads you towards fitness
Along with diet, exercise plays an essential role in managing your weight and preventing obesity. To maintain your weight, the calories you are taking must equal the energy you burn. To lose weight, you must utilize more calories than you eat and drink.
Manage your sugar and insulin levels
Exercise can reduce your blood sugar level and help your insulin work effectively. This can lower your risk for metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. And if you already have one of those diseases, exercise can help you to maintain it.
Feel Happier through fitness
Exercise has been shown to improve your mood and reduce feelings of depression, anxiety, and stress. It produces variations in the parts of the brain that control stress and anxiety. It can also boost brain sensitivity for the hormones serotonin and norepinephrine, which relieve feelings of depression.
Better Mental Health and fitness
Regular exercise can have an extremely positive influence on depression, anxiety, ADHD, and more. It also relieves stress, increases memory, helps you sleep better, and boosts your overall mood. You don’t have to be a fitness fanatic to reap the benefits – browse through our site and discover how to reap these benefits.
How to Achieve Mental Fitness
Be positive with yourself and improve your fitness
Affirmation, or positively talking to yourself, involves strengthening neural pathways to bring your self-confidence, well-being, and satisfaction to a higher level. To start, make a list of your good qualities. Remind yourself that you don’t have to be perfect. Set goals for what you want to make better and start small to avoid becoming confused.
Stop Multitasking
Many think that multitasking enables you to get more things done at once, but it creates more problems than it solves. Focusing on one task at a time will improve your concentration and help you to be more productive.
Try Something Different
New practices can also set you on the way to mental fitness. You can fit new approaches into your daily life by trying new foods, new ways to accomplish routine tasks, traveling to new places or trying a new route to the grocery store.
Read More
Reading is great for your brain. Your brain processes every word you read, including this one. Beyond the mechanics, reading helps you visualize the subject matter on the pages before you, and imagine what voices sound like in the written dialogue.
This can also be a great relaxation technique
Top Fitness Tips for Mental and Physical Exercise.
General physical fitness and targeted exercises to improve stability can prevent falls. But so can staying mentally ready to maintain brain health. A sharp mind helps you to think — and stay — on your feet. Join us and learn to strike a balance.
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150 Exercises You Can Do
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Mushrooms boosting your immune system
Your immune system is essentially what an army is to a nation. It protects your body from internal and external threats that may hamper its efficient functioning. Similar to how a Nations continuously invests in improving its defense force, your body seeks several boosters that enhance your immune system. Mushrooms are one of them.
There are a plethora of immunity-boosting foods available such as citrus fruits, garlic, broccoli, and others. Among these, mushrooms have traditionally proven to be excellent boosters of the immune system.
There are a plethora of immunity-boosting foods available such as citrus fruits, garlic, broccoli, and others. Among these, mushrooms have traditionally proven to be excellent boosters of the immune system.
Mushroom and its benefits
Including mushrooms in your diet will help you to restore the balance of your immune system. Furthermore, it will regulate the oxygen flow, which will assist in the optimum maintenance of your blood sugar levels. As a result, you will experience lesser stress levels and enjoy a pleasant sleeping pattern.
Over the years, extensive researches have been conducted on determining the benefits of medicinal mushrooms in specific. A study from the archives of the US National Library of Medicines, National Institute of Health, has found that apart from providing high nutrition values, medicinal mushrooms possess anti-inflammatory and immune-modulating properties. Another study asserted that the natural components of these mushrooms might aid in future cancer therapy as well.
Among the wide variety of medicinal mushrooms available in the market, it is paramount to choose those which are best suited for the purpose of boosting your immunity. Listed below are five mushrooms that guarantee to strengthen your immune system.
1. Lion’s Mane – The perfect fuel for your brain
Not to be fooled by its rather pom-pom appearance, the lion’s mane is a classic example of a medicinal mushroom that is rich in healthy antioxidants. The unique benefit associated with this mushroom in specific is its innate ability to activate the Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) production, which is an essential bioprotein. Moreover, it also contributes to the generation of myelin, which is responsible for creating a protective layer around the nerve fibers.
Abundant researches conducted on the neurotrophic properties of Lion’s Mane have concluded that owing to the regulated production of NGF and myelin, balanced brain health is maintained. As a result, the chances of contracting neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s significantly decrease.
2. Reishi – The unchallenged all-rounder
Are you troubled by the unrealistic expectations of weight loss that you set for yourself? First off, you should aim to chase smart targets and slowly raise the bar. Have a read of our blog post to know more about achievable weight loss goals.
One of the most popular medicinal mushrooms, reishi is known for being an all-in-one solution for a multitude of health problems. Not only does it assist in weight loss, but it also helps in optimum regulation of the immune system.
Consuming reishi does not exclusively benefit your physical health; it dramatically impacts your mental well-being as well. Its components are found to have positive implications towards a reduction of depression and anxiety along with improving the sleep cycle as well.
3. Shiitake – Your heart’s best friend
From all the possible essential vitamins, minerals, and enzymes, shiitake ranks among the favorites in the category of immunity boosters. Including shiitake in your diet, would ensure that your body receives the required amounts of Vitamin B, Vitamin D, along with seven essential amino acids.
Moreover, shiitake is known to have cholesterol-lowering properties. As per studies conducted by the US National Library of Medicines, the National Institute of Health, incorporating shiitake in your diet, would regulate the production of cholesterol in your liver, ensuring a healthy heart.
4. Cordyceps – Your instant dose of energy
If you ever feel too drained out or low on energy, cordyceps should be your go-to medicinal mushroom. It is known to extensively support the development of a healthy metabolism as it plays a determining role in the RNA and DNA synthesis.
Furthermore, cordyceps possess anti-bacterial properties that protect our body from any chances of bacterial infections or diseases. Additionally, it has also demonstrated anti-viral properties.
However, it is mostly preferred as it assists in energy generation. This is attributed to its ability to improve the blood circulation in the body as it ensures optimum utility of oxygen.
An example of the effectivity of cordyceps was witnessed in 1993 when Chinese women athletes broke previous records at unbelievable timings on frequent occasions. They credited the secret behind their success to be a generous consumption of cordyceps in their diet, which magnanimously boosted their energy, additionally making their immune system more resilient to diseases.
5. Chaga – the reservoir of antioxidants
By its appearance, a Chaga mushroom appears more like a lump of dirt. Expecting medicinal benefits from it might seem ludicrous at its first appearance. However, Chaga is dense in nutrients such as Vitamin D, rubidium, cesium, amino acids, fiber, zinc, iron, magnesium, calcium, and many others. Hence, it is a wholesome mushroom that caters to multiple metabolic needs of your body.
More importantly, Chaga is known for its antioxidant properties which again, have a holistic impact across varied areas in health and wellness. For instance, antioxidants significantly lower the blood pressure, which mainly rises due to an imbalance in the oxidative stress. This reduces the chance of acquiring any chronic heart diseases or cardiovascular health issues.
Inflammation is one of the leading causes of chronic health problems like rheumatoid arthritis. Chaga regulates the cytokinin production in your body, which prevents the increase of inflammation in your body, thus reducing your chances of contracting such chronic ailments. For more information on Foods rich in Nutrition Density, check out this article that helps you make conscious choices.
Things to keep in mind while consuming medicinal mushrooms
The primary question which might be bothering you at this point is whether medicinal mushrooms are safe to consume. They are 100% safe since they are known to have almost zero side effects.
However, since they are a type of fungi at the end of the day, it is highly advised not to consume them raw. The best way to consume them would be after cooking them, quite like you cook your regular daily meals and try to incorporate them with your daily dose of vegetables. This method is mainly applicable for mushrooms such as shiitake and lion’s mane.
Mushrooms such as reishi are more on the bitter side, and hence they cannot be eaten. Instead, it is suggested that you grind it into a fine powder and mix it with your tea or soup. This can be quickly done by mixing the ground powder with some warm water, and there you have your mushroom soup.
Now the standard dosage of each category of medicinal mushroom is different. Hence, you must pay kind attention to the amount of consumption. A rough guide for some of the varieties is listed as follows-
- Reishi Mushroom – 1 mg to 9 mg per day
- Chaga Mushroom – 1 mg per day
- Cordyceps Mushroom – 1 mg per day
At the same time, it is recommended that you consult your dietician to attain an expert opinion about the sufficient quantities of consumption. This will eliminate any chances of the effects of the mushrooms interfering with any existing medication that you may be taking.
Amidst all this, it is paramount that you pay keen attention to the mushroom you are purchasing. Make sincere efforts to steer clear of all kinds of wild mushrooms and purchase your mushrooms from trusted vendors or grocery stores so that the quality and authenticity are not compromised.
In Quick Summation
Right from our childhood, we have been acquainted with many traditional immunity boosters, such as ginger, garlic, spinach, almonds, and many others. Medicinal mushrooms were quite an unexplored territory. However, now that you have attained a fair understanding of their benefits, you can make the most of the myriad benefits that they have to offer.
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