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Are you putting forth effort to reduce your caffeine intake? Maybe you want to switch from drinking coffee and soda to drinking tea, but are afraid the caffeine level won’t be much different? After reading this article, you’ll be able to make informed choices when choosing teas.

If you’re switching from drinking coffee, you maybe interested to learn an eight-ounce serving of coffee contains 150-200 milligrams of caffeine. You can compare this to the following teas, which are listed from most caffeinated to lowest in caffeine content.

If you’re trying to avoid caffeine, take black tea off your list–it usually serves up 60-90 milligrams of caffeine per eight ounces. You’ll find out black tea is the tea served as traditional ice tea (or sweet tea, if you’re in the south) and is the basis for Earl Grey, Irish Breakfast and English Breakfast teas. Most people drink it either with lemon or with milk and honey.

Oolong tea, which is smooth and refreshing, delivers 50-75 milligrams of caffeine in each cup. That’s what you usually are served in Asian restaurants. You drink it straight, with nothing added.

If you swtich to green tea, you’ll take in 35-70 milligrams of caffeine each time. Most green teas are sold with some sort of flavoring added, such as lemongrass.

White teas usually deliver 3-55 milligrams per cup. White tea is similar in taste to green tea, although smoother.

Red rooibos tea is caffeine-free, as are herbal teas. Red rooibos is also called redbush tea; it is grown in Africa and is popular with milk and honey. Other examples of herbal teas are mint, orange zest, rosehip, chamomile, lemon zest, berry, and cinnamon spice teas.

One unusual caffeine-free tea is yerba matte; it contains a stimulant similr to caffeine that a lot of people like. It is served all over South America. People like the way the stimulant in yerba mattte makes them feel, since it is a gentler stimulant.

A healthy lifestyle is extremely important, as it is difficult to feel like you are living life to its fullest potential when you are not healthy. Without a healthy lifestyle pushing you forward, you will likely find that you feel sluggish and unmotivated, and that your body is prone to illness. On the other hand, those who are able to keep their lifestlye healthy are much more likely to be full of energy and motivation! At the same time, however, a lot of people feel that it is difficult to consistently lead a healthy lifestyle. Quite frankly, part of the problem is that a lot of people try to do too much at once! Starting small is the best way to kick off a healthy lifestyle. Once you change the little things, you will find that the big things start to change as well.

The first step of leading a healthy lifestyle is to watch what goes into your body. While plenty of people understand this step and know how important it is, they do not understand exactly what they should and should not put into their bodies. For instance, while most poeple understand that smoking and drinking in excess are unhealthy, they do not know the difference between bad fat and good fat, or between bad cholesterol and good cholesterol. Take the time to study up on these smaller, more subtle areas, and your body will notice the difference.

Another big step in leading a healthy lifestyle is exercise. When it comes to exercise, many people fail to follow through on their good intentions. If you set up a workout plan that has you visiting the gym for an hour a day, seven days a week, you are likely to drop the whole thing eventually! Instead of doing this, you should start small. Schedule a few days a week, for ten minutes each day. In time, you can increase this, and your body will feel noticeably different.

Finally, remember that sleep is important! For some, this is an easy step, but for a lot of others it can be extremely difficult! In the long run – even for those who feel like they are “losing hours” when they sleep eight hours each night – extra sleep will make a big difference!

Sure, it is easy to neglect your body and its health, but it is just as easy to do the opposite. Follow these simple tips, and get your body on the track to health.

When you deal with stress and anxiety in your life, it can not only make your days less enjoyable, but it can also take a toll on your health. Of course, if you stay away from the situations that typically leave you feeling stressed and anxious, this will be the best way to keep from being stressed and anxious – but this is not always possible. When you find yourself feeling stressed and anxious, however, there is more you can do than simply “wait for it to go away.” If you follow these tips, you can “exercise away” your stress and anxiety when they come to try and take you down.

Actually, the best way to “exercise away” stress and anxiety is to actually exercise, as this will help you release the tension from your body. One problem with using exercise to get rid of stress and anxiety is the fact that you will often get stressed at work – and it is more difficult to work out there. But actually, you can still work out while you are at work; simply take a walk around your building, or keep some weights under your desk that you can unwind with every once in a while.

Another great way to get rid of the tension that can build up in your body when you are feeling stressed and anxious is by doing some breathing exercises. Instead of focusing on the source from which your stress is coming, take deep, full breaths and focus on the rise and fall of your chest. The best thing of all about breathing exercises is that you can do them anywhere, at any time of day.

Another one of the easiest ways to relieve stress and tension that builds up in your body is by stretching. Stretching is another thing that you can do anywhere – in your home, at work, and even in your car – and in this way you can keep your muscles and the rest of your body loose.

Sometimes, it can be difficult when you are stressed to force yourself to take a moment and relieve the stress or anxiety. But you will be ready to tackle the rest of the day if you take the time to do this, as you are sure to feel much better afterward.

Are you concerned about your child’s ability to manage stress? Are you unsure how to assist your child as he or she deals with anxiety? Use these tricks to train your child so he will know how to handle stress.

Teach him to go for a walk. By walking away, your child is actively resisting and choosing how to handle the stress. When your child is stressed out, he feels the adrenaline rush of fight or flight, which makes him want to run or fight. Teach your child to walk away; this alone is an empowering act because it teaches your child to physically remove himself from the situation. Then teach your child to walk or run until he feels better. The beautiful thing about teaching your child to use physical activity as a stress management tool is that it is an appropriate response for many childhood experiences (on the playground, at home, in gym class).

Teach your child how to express and deal with stress through the use of art. A lot of kids can’t talk about stress, but they can express themselves in pictures. Give your child some art supplies and do some art together such a “emotional painting”, where you paint a picture that depicts how you feel at the moment. Let your child’s creative juices flow without you asking too many questions or making suggestions. You might led by example and draw a cartoon strip about something that evokes emotion in you. Open up the topic for conversation, but don’t push anything.

Help your child learn the therapeutic power of the written word. Your child may expressing himself better through writing than talking. Buy a journal and start writing notes to your child in it each day, asking him to write back to you. Then, when your child is angry or sad, use the notebook to write him a note, asking how he’s doing. Use the journal to promote healthy venting and communication. Explore solutions through the notes passed back and forth – under the crack of the door, if necessary.

Take heart that you are teaching your children coping skills that will help them deal with stress for the rest of their lives.

For the last forty years, the question of whether Gatorade or water is better has swirled, endlessly fueled by staunch supporters of either side. And while everyone knows that hydration is important, it can seem silly to believe that there is actually a better method of hydration than plain old water.

In order to understand the argument between water and Gatorade, it helps to understand a little about the history of Gatorade. Gatorade was first created by researchers at the University of Florida, when the head football coach asked them if there was a way for the team to be less sluggish after hot practices. Gatorade was immortalized not long afterward, when the Florida Gators defeated Georgia Tech in the 1967 Orange Bowl, and the Tech coach claimed his team had lost because they did not have Gatorade on their side.

If you know anything about Gatorade, you know that it is designed to replenish those things in your body that water alone cannot replenish. And in answering the question of whether Gatorade or water is better, this understanding is the basic foundation that leads to a conclusion.

Gatorade truly is valuable to athletes, as it was specially, scientifically formulated to replenish all those elements lost through sweating during intense physical exertion that water alone cannot replenish. It is true that there are certain diets that can be followed in conjunction with water that can mimic the effects achieved by Gatorade, but it is much easier to just drink a Gatorade!

Mix Your Own Gatorade At Home!

On the other hand, when the body is at rest, it does not especially need all the sugars and other elements that Gatorade provides. After all, someone sitting on a couch, watching a movie, does not especially need to replenish any great loss from their body, and so, they do not especially need to crack open a bottle of Gatorade!

The best approach to take with Gatorade is for athletes to drink plenty of water leading up to an event, and to drink Gatorade during the event. And if you are not an athlete, try to drink Gatorade as sparingly as you drink soda or other sugar-filled drinks; after all, if you are not losing buckets of sweat, there is no need to replenish!

One of the scariest things that can happen as you age – and even before you start to age – is poor memory! Many people start to find that their memory is slipping far earlier than they ever thought it would, and they think there is nothing they can do about this. But actually, there are a number of different things you can to do exercise your brain in order to improve memory.

One of the best ways to exercise your brain is by doing puzzles of any sort – such as jigsaw puzzles, word puzzles, and word searches. As you do such activities, you will be strengthening both your brain’s capacity for thought and for recall – which are both big for preserving memory.

Of course, another fun activity that also helps to increase your brain’s ability to remember things is the game of memory. In this game, a number of cards are placed face-down, in a grid, and you must find the pairs by flipping over the cards and remembering where they were.

Learn great memory improvement techniques!

Chess is one of the best activities you can engage in to improve your brain’s functionality in both the short term and the long term. As chess forces you to see much further ahead than you would normally have to see, it is a real “brain stretcher.”

If you find a creative activity that you enjoy engaging in, you will also find that this helps to strengthen your memory in the long run. Creative writing is one such activity that does wonders for your memory, and drawing is another such activity. You do not have to get extremely creative with your drawing – really, you will do a lot to help your memory simply by drawing things from pictures or from real life.

When you start to engage in these exercises, you will find over the long run that your mind is working better and better. And as you start to age, this strengthening of your mind will go a long way helping you to have a memory that continues to work great!

Tips And Secrets For A Better Memory!

Is there really anything to aromatherapy? Have any doctors or scientists looked into aromatherapy? Once you find out what aromatherapy can do for you, you’ll be checking out all the cool scents out there.

Many people use aromatherapy to create a sense of calm or to change their mood. You can actually evoke very specific physical and emotional reactions with scent. This is because the sense of smell is so primal; when you smell something, a very primal space in your brain reacts without you putting  alot of thought into it. That’s why you skrink back at the smell of hair burning or come closer when someone smells familiar.

One of the most trusted of the aromatherapy studies shows that lavender has a very powerful affect on you physically. Lavender actually calms you physically by lowering your blood pressure and slowing your heart rate. Many massage therapists use lavender essential oils in their lotions, oils, and to diffuse in their offices. Many geriactric units are starting to use lavender to calm and soothe dementia patients. Another proven scent is geranium; it also relaxes the body is a similar way to lavender.

When studying aromatherapy, scientists have discovered yet another powerful aromatherapy tool: peppermint. It has been determined that peppermint enhances your ability to focus, increasing your alertness and mental clarity. In one study, kids who chewed peppermint gum while taking tests performed better than students who chewed any other flavor gum.

A lot of people use grapefruit essential oil because it is supposed to work as an appetite suppressant. Another fun thing about grapefruit essential oils was discovered in a study evaluating men, scent, and age–apparantly men think women who smell like grapefruit are younger than those who wear other scents.

However, not all aromatherapy products work the same. Your body won’t have the same response to a synthetic product as an essential oil. High grade essential oils are more effective than low grade oils. For best results, buy a 100% natural, high quality essential oil and mix it into lotions and a base oil, such as almond oil.

If you have ever found yourself surprised by the effects of the coffee you are drinking – or by the lack of effects – you might be surprised to learn the caffeine content of your drinks of choice.

Starbucks is one of the favorite coffee destinations of most Americans. While Starbucks offers plenty of specialty drinks, one of their most popular is the Frappuccino. You will espcially see people drinking this drink – and might even be especially tempted by this drink yourself – during the hot summer months, but did you know that the Frappuccino has no caffeine in it? The Frappuccino is made with a coffee-flavored powder, but it does not actually contain any real coffee. If you are wanting something to wake you up during the summer instead of just a cold drink, think twice before purchasing a Frappuccino.

Espresso is another area where one of the big caffeine myths comes from. You might even find a barista making a comment along the lines of, “You must really need to stay awake” if you ever order and espresso-based drink and ask for an extra shot to be added. Actually, while espresso contains more caffeine per ounce than regular coffee, most espresso drinks only contain a couple ounces of espresso. One example is a venti latte at Starbucks – the largest size offered – which only comes with three shots (or ounces) of espresso. As a shot of espresso typically contains between 35 and 50 milligrams of caffeine, this amounts to between 105 and 150 milligrams of caffeine.

On the other hand, a single cup of coffee will typically give you between 115 and 150 milligrams of caffeine. This means that the 20 ounces of coffee in a Starbucks venti coffee gives you over 300 milligrams of caffeine! In other words, a venti coffee actually contains more than double what you will find in a venti espresso drink!

You might actually went to consider espresso drinks if you are especially sensitive to caffeine. You just need to know how many shots are in a drink, and you can be aware of how much caffeine you are consuming. On the other hand, if you are wondering why caffeine is not making a big difference for you, you might be getting a lot less caffeine than you actually thought!

Now that summer is nearly upon us, many of us will be spending a fair amount of time in the sun – and even though we try to remember to protect our skin using sunburn, it seems like most of us end up getting a pretty bad sunburn at least once each summer! Of course, simply not getting burned at all is your best bet when it comes to sunburns, but it is still great to know how to cure a sunburn during those times when you have allowed a sunburn to occur.

As you probably know already, the aloe vera plant is one of the best ways to cure a sunburn, and even though you are best served buying an aloe vera plant of your own (they are not very expensive!), you can also buy creams and ointments that are aloe vera based. You should start applying the aloe vera or the cream as soon as you notice your sunburn, and you should apply it several times per day until the sunburn clears up!

150 Home and Beauty Remedies Using The Aloe Plant!

Even though aloe vera is the best way to heal up a sunburn quickly, some people find that aloe vera irritates their skin. If this is the case for you, a couple things you can try instead are flaxseed oil and an oatmeal mask; either of these can be applied liberally and frequently, and they will help to lessen the pain of the sunburn and help to heal it fairly quickly.

Until the sunburn clears up, you should also try to keep from using soap and water on your skin as much as possible, as this mixture can be abrasive. Finally, you should avoid going in the sun if at all possible, as continued exposure will only make your sunburn worse – even if you are applying something to help you heal up.

If you are going to spend any time in the sun, you should make your best effort to remember to always use sunscreen, as this will protect your skin in the short term and in the long term; but if you forget your sunscreen, you can use these methods to heal up more quickly!

Do you why so many American children are overweight? Children in the US are wasting too much time in front of televisions, computers, and video games. If your child comes home from school and plops himself down in front of the TV, you’re setting him up for a lifetime of weight problems. The following list of ten activities will give you a point of reference as you come up with ways to get your child active.

Join a local sport team or club. Tennis lessons. Volleyball. Sign your child up for a jogging club. Anything that gets your child up and moving counts.

Put together a friendly scavenger hunt. Coordinate with other parents in the neighborhood or apartment complex and set up a list of things your child and his friends need to find.

Borrow a neighbor’s dog. If you don’t have your own pet that needs walking, volunteer your child to walk the neighbor’s dog for exercise.

Gather together a bunch of neighbor kids for a big, multi-property hide and seek game. If your kids are older, set up a flashlight tag game for after dark.

Buy outdoor games such as crochet, horseshoes, and badminton. Set up the game and invite the cousins over.

Pass out jump ropes and hold a competition. Buy a couple different types of jump ropes so you can have chinese jump ropes, long jump ropes, and individual jump ropes. Offer rewards for the best jumpers, things like bubbles or bouncy balls.

Sign your child up for active summer camps. Check out your community website or paper for inexpensive, fun programs.

Hand over the mowing responsibility. If your child is ten or older, he or she should be able to do it.

Pull out the old Twister mat. See who is the most flexible of the bunch.

Take your kid for a walk. Or hop on bikes together. Or put up a basket ball hoop and start teaching him or her how to shoot. If you use exercise as a way to spend time with your children, they’ll be more eager to participate. Be the example you want your child to grow up to be, and watch their enthusiasm grow!