Top 10 Benefits of Laughter

Treat Your Laughter Deficiency Every Day   

Short burst of hysterical laughter is as important as short burst of high intensity exercise.  

• Feeling down?  
• Stressed?  
• Anxious?  
• Low energy? 
• Overwhelmed? 
• Worried? 
• Or just blah?

You probably haven’t laughed hard enough recently. 

If you try to eat right and exercise regularly, then you should also be making sure you spend enough time laughing.

Laughing so hard that you can’t catch your breath provides unique benefits that superfoods, vitamins, exercise, and good quality sleep can’t provide.

The benefits of laughter…

It decreases stress.  Laughter reduces stress hormones which accelerate aging, make you fat, and drain your energy.  Stress is the number one thing that makes people feel bad.

Rebalances “feel good” brain chemicals.  Laughter releases endorphins and dopamine which can make your day much more enjoyable regardless of what is going on.  After laughing hard your body experiences a surge of these feel good chemicals creating a high in some people.

Humor improves memory recall, topic understanding, increases attention and stimulates creative thinking.  A reduction in stress hormones allows for the brain to work significantly better.  Scientist have proven that being highly stressed makes it much more difficult to learn new material.  Laughter reduces tension and helps bring synchronicity to the two hemispheres of the brain enabling it to remember ideas better.  Both of these help bring about the ideal, relaxed learning state.  If teachers used humor and relaxation as teaching methods students would learn exponentially more information. 

Dramatically boost immune function.  Laughter stimulates a major component of the immune system known as natural killer cells.  These cells kill cancer cells and infectious organisms like the common cold and flu.  Laughing also boosts IgA antibodies which attack organisms responsible for upper respiratory tract infections.  If you ever start to feel sick, laughter can help boost your immune system and make you feel better. 

Eases tension and relaxes your muscles.   Laughing temporarily contracts your abdominal muscles and once you are finished laughing your body relaxes deeper than had you not laughed at all.  Muscle contractions stimulate lymph glands to help eliminate toxins out of the body.  So laughing regularly assists in detoxification.  This is one explanation for how continuously watching funny movies has cured some people from disease.   

Laughing can help you stay lean.  Laughing reduces the stress hormone cortisol, which can cause you to gain bodyfat.  High amounts of cortisol cause fat accumulation, especially around the abdominal area.  Laughing itself is a workout and it has been said that 10 minutes of laughing is equivalent to 30 minutes of exercise. 

Laughter makes you more attractive to the opposite sex.  Laughing makes you feel good and when you feel good people are more attracted to you. 

Eases fear and anger, providing a sense of hope.  A study with terminally ill cancer patients demonstrated that laughter was extremely beneficial for those facing death.  Humor can help improve coping skills, whether it is finals coming up, a bad break up, or a death in the family.  Laughing can comfort emotional pain from any source.    

Reduces inflammation.   Inflammation accelerates aging, causes brain fog and sets up the conditions for diseases of every kind.  Laughter is a strong, natural anti-inflammatory similar to superfoods like cherries, pineapple and ginger.

Balances blood sugar.  A research study demonstrated that laughter after eating prevented the rise in blood glucose in diabetics.  This is important because higher levels of blood sugar in anyone is associated with accelerated aging and the onset of a variety of diseases. 

In order to reap the benefits it’s important to laugh hard.  The harder you laugh the better it is for your body.  Hysterical laughter is best and probably has hundreds of health benefits that scientist have yet to discover.  Hang out with some ridiculous friends, watch TV shows, movies, YouTube videos, Twitter feeds, or whatever it is that makes you laugh.  

Don't just watch one funny show a week.  Make sure you find humor throughout the day, everyday.

Don’t take life too serious….

Is Stress Causing Your Upset Stomach?

Is Stress Causing Your Upset Stomach?

Are you experiencing stress from any of the following?

·        Exams

·        Relationships

·        Deadlines

·        Generalized worry

·        Financial concerns

·        Bad foods

If so, you know how the stomach can be directly affected from mental stress causing bloating, cramping, diarrhea, and or constipation to name a few symptoms.  From my experience, typical drugstore, over-the-counter medication doesn’t adequately treat all these symptoms.

Few students realize how helpful peppermint oil enteric coated capsules can be especially around finals.  Well over a dozen scientific studies have validated the effectiveness of peppermint oil on calming the gastrointestinal tract.  This has led many doctors to begin prescribing peppermint oil for gastrointestinal disturbances and spasms.  From my experience, the peppermint oil capsules very rarely ever cause side effects and profoundly benefit the user. 

To a lesser degree, peppermint oil also kills yeast or candida albicans which can also cause gastrointestinal disturbances.  Killing yeast is important for girls and guys in order to have maximum vitality. 

Yeast overgrowth can be caused by:

·        Binge Drinking

·        Antibiotics

·        Sugar

·        Birth Control pills

·        Excessive Carbohydrates

·        Artificial Sweeteners

Symptoms of yeast overgrowth aside from recurrent yeast infections in women include:

·        Brain fog/Poor Memory/Slow to learn concepts or ideas/Lack of concentration

·        Fatigue/Low energy

·        Low Mood, Anxiety, Irritability

·        Frequently Sick

·        Digestion issues, diarrhea, constipation

Instead of using synthetic over-the-counter drugs, choose an enteric coated peppermint oil capsule or softgel.   Typical instructions are one capsule 1-2 times daily as needed.

If you don’t have peppermint softgels available you can always drink a special anti-stress stomach concoction.   Brew 2 teabags of peppermint tea (I prefer organic tea bags) with one or two bags of chamomile tea.  Let steep for at least 5 minutes and then enjoy.  You may drink this warm or over ice throughout the day to calm stomach nerves.  A simple tea concoction can make a profound difference for some people who struggle with nervous indigestion or stomach upset. 

Purchase “The Natural Truth About College” to learn more on how to reduce stress, feel your best and have maximum vitality. 

www.NaturalTruthAboutCollege.com 

If You Drink Filtered Water, Should You Breathe Filtered Air?

Do you want to breathe in the healthiest, cleanest air?  Of course you should.  In the 1980’s everyone drank regular tap water until major companies started filtering and bottling water to sell.  Today, common knowledge tells us that drinking mainly tap water is a health hazard.  Research clearly demonstrates over 200 pharmaceutical drugs are in tap water along with heavy metals, pesticides, herbicides, and much more.    

In twenty years, air pollution in certain areas will be viewed the same as tap water today.  People will find it hard to believe that people were not using air filters for their living quarters.  Air pollution can be accumulating toxins in your body and setting the conditions for disease and cancer.  The World Health Organization now acknowledges that air pollution (especially prevalent in major cities) is causing many different types of cancer.  http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-air-pollution-causes-lung-cancer-20131017,0,981625.story#axzz2iToKoIbv  It is not just lung cancer where toxins build up and elimination is inadequate, but other types of cancer including bladder cancer.  I believe the link to bladder cancer is the body's attempt to eliminate toxins but due to inadequate water intake it can't properly flush the system clean.
Avoiding polluted air can be difficult especially if you live in a densely populated area.  High end air filters can be very expensive and sometimes require one for each room in your house.  I own high quality air filters and they work very well at cleaning up the air, but they came with a steep price tag.  Recently I discovered a low cost alternative that will clean the air you breathe very effectively.      

This Michigan University video below will demonstrate how to make your own air filter for around $25.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kH5APw_SLUU

I suggest spending a little extra for a higher quality HEPA furnace filter.  I like this 3M brand “Elite Allergen Extra Reduction” HEPA filter. 

http://www.lowes.com/pd_362200-98-EAX02-TWR_4294761657%2B4294751788%2B4294804526%2B4294794887__?productId=3460922&Ns=p_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNs%3Dp_product_qty_sales_dollar%7C1&facetInfo=1.0|20.0|20.0  You will need to find an air filter with the dimension of 20” x 20” x 1”.  This filter and the 20 inch box fan (retail $19.99) can typically be found at Lowe’s or Home Depot.  This type of filter will filter almost as much more expensive home air filter.

I created this box fan filter to put in my laundry room/garage entry to test its strength.  After one month of use the air quality was much better.  As you can see how much dirt was filtered out of the air with the image below.  The HEPA filter is white and the circle of dirt is what is being filtered out of the air.  Imagine how many toxins were going into my lungs and burdening my body without this filter.

Ignore the awful blue colored tape, I used blue painter’s tape because it was the only tape I had at the time and I’m the only one that walks in that room. 

It is important to have at least one air filter in the place where you spend 1/3 of your life, your bedroom.  Breathing in clean air while you sleep is important to eliminate mold, bacteria, and toxins from entering your body.   This keeps you healthy, feeling young, and is important for anyone wanting to live the healthiest way possible.  
Anyone that has pets, especially cats should definitely have an air filter.  The most important area would be near the litter box in order to remove bacteria and toxins from the air.  Recent studies show that bacteria from cat litter boxes negatively impacts health. Not only is it bad for your lungs, (especially for asthmatics) but it also bad for your brain.  The toxic bacteria is linked to depression, anxiety and increased suicide risk.  
Remember to drink lots of filtered water throughout the day to help eliminate toxins that build up in our system from multiple sources.  
For more information read my book "The Natural Truth About College".  www.NaturalTruthAboutCollege.com