How to eat for a less stressed life

Tags

a handful of nuts, a poor immune system, adrenal glands deal, almond butter, anxiety, bad stuff, balanced, banana, better balance, blood sugar levels, boost, brain, Broccoli, caffeine hit, Celery sticks with hummus, coffee, complex carbohydrates, cuts, desk, digestive problems, dinner, eggs, energy drinks, feel, fruit teas, goodness, green tea, healthy fats, heart, heart disease, hormones, kick start, lemon, lime, lunch, magnesium, magnesium deficiency, meal, meat, mind and body, nasties, nourishing foods, nutritious diet, nuts, off the scale, overwhelmed, porridge, protein, pumpkin seeds, racing, running low, salmon, satisfying, seeds, serious physical health issues, snacks, soothe, stimulants, stress levels, struggle, sugar free, sugary and starchy foods, sweet potato, tea, warmth, water, you are what you eat

They say you are what you eat, and this is so true when it comes to our stress levels.

Not only is stress linked to serious physical health issues like heart disease, a poor immune system and digestive problems, but it plays a significant factor when it comes to our mental wellbeing.

You might not know this, but eating a balanced, nutritious diet isn’t only good for your body but it’s key for your brain, too.

Food can also affect our hormones, so eating well will help you to keep your cool and you’ll find that the more of the right stuff you eat, the less of the bad stuff you will feel.

We have had a look at some ideas that could help you get a better balance in your life and help the world to look like a better place.

Keep your blood sugar levels steady
This step is so important and can be done if you start to swap sugary and starchy foods for complex carbohydrates, protein and healthy fats as these are more satisfying and keep things balanced. Sweet potato and broccoli (complex carbs) with salmon (healthy fats and protein) make a great meal for lunch or dinner and will not only fill you up but also keep things steady so your stress levels don’t though the roof. Celery sticks with hummus, a handful of nuts, and a banana with some almond butter are all great snacks that will keep stress away, and if you start your day with porridge, you are onto a winner.

Get your B vitamins
You might not know this, but B vitamins are brilliant because they help your adrenal glands deal with stress. Luckily for us, they are everywhere and in everything from wholegrains, eggs and meat to nuts and seeds. If you can try to eat more of these wholesome, nourishing foods, your stress levels will thank you.

Make time for magnesium
Magnesium is great for helping your body to deal with stress, it is thought that a magnesium deficiency can be linked to anxiety. If you want to boost your magnesium intake, it’s pretty easy – just pile your plate with broccoli, eggs, spinach and pumpkin seeds and if you are worried you aren’t getting enough, take a supplement and let the goodness calm you down.

Cut back on stimulants
We do take them on board so easily, that we forget just how much stimulants can make our stress levels worse. If you love tea and coffee because it powers you up, that’s ok, but try to have just one or two cups a day, rather than ten.

Those energy drinks, even the sugar free ones, are full of nasties that can make you feel as if your heart is racing and your stress levels are off the scale, so cut them out.
If you find yourself needing a caffeine hit, get it the natural way and go for green tea instead – it contains a compound called l-theanine which helps you feel calmer, and the warmth will soothe you but your stress levels won’t go through the roof.

Keep hydrated
One of the best things you can do for your mind and body, is to drink plenty of water. We know we say this a lot, but that’s because it’s true. Starting the day with a cup of warm water and lemon can really help to kick start your system and clear away the toxins from the night before. Carry a bottle of water with you on the go (a reusable one of course) and fill it up when you are running low, adding lemon, lime and ice for taste. As well as a glass on your desk or at your workstation, also try out herbal and fruit teas as an alternative to the skinny, double shot, extra hot flat white that will set your nerves on edge and add to your stress levels.

Managing your diet is key to helping with stress, but if you’re feeling overwhelmed and things are getting out of hand, it’s really important to speak to someone or seek professional support, you don’t have to struggle alone.

Team Pure Beauty

Buy your holiday essentials at Pure Beauty Online

Tags

50ml option, all skin type, Aloe, Arnica, Australian tea tree oil, away, Camphor, ccelerate cell renewal, cleanses, cuts, Davos, Decleor Smoothing and Cleansing Mousse, deeply relaxing scent, Dermalogica Multi-Active Toner, Elemis Instant Refreshing Gel, Elemis LIFE ELIXIRS Sleep Perfume Oil, Elemis Tea Tree S.O.S. Spray, feel, fungal feet infections, Ginkgo and Oatmeal, green tea, hand luggage, holiday, holiday essentials, home, hydration, lavender, look, menthol, mid-flight, mind and body, mint, moisturises, muscle tension, natural, neck, Papain, plumps, pure beauty online, pure essential oils, refreshed skin, rice-based powder, rich concentrated triple-action cleanser, Salicylic Acid, shoulders, sleep, Spain, spots, spray, struggle, tired legs

A week in Wales, sightseeing in Spain or dancing the night away in Davos, all mean one thing – travel beauty essentials are needed.

At Pure Beauty Online, we sell a range of fantastic products that you can pack up and take away with you to ensure you look and feel great all holiday long.

Let’s start this holiday party off with the Decleor Smoothing and Cleansing Mousse. This 3-in-1 mousse cleanses, plumps and moisturises all skin types. This popular product now comes in a 50ml option that is perfect for taking on a weekend away and easily fits in your travel bag. The rich concentrated triple-action cleanser comes with a mix of powerful, but gentle active ingredients that leave your skin feeling beautifully clean and smooth.

If you like to keep things natural, even when it comes to medical matters, we have a feeling you will like the Elemis Tea Tree S.O.S. Spray. This clever spray contains Australian tea tree oil which is full of anti-bacterial and antiviral properties. You can use it to treat fungal feet infections, spray onto cuts and nasty insect bites, it is good for dealing with spots and is pretty much the ultimate beauty travel companion.

Whether you want to keep things cool morning and night, or need a skin refresh mid-flight, the Dermalogica Multi-Active Toner does the job and does it well. Packed with aloe, lavender, mint, and arnica this toner can be used on all skins types and gives an added level of hydration that we often need when we are away.

While you can’t carry this one in your hand luggage, the Elemis Instant Refreshing Gel is a total travel winner. This gel is perfect for tired legs as well as muscle tension around the shoulders and neck – something you can get on even the shortest flights. Arnica, birch, and witch hazel have been mixed with cooling camphor and menthol and together they make a magical mix that you will want to use at home, and away.

We are currently stocking the Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant Travel, but don’t leave it in your basket for too long as it is a limited-edition option that’s only available for a short time. This unique comes in the form of a rice-based powder that activates when mixed with water, at which point papain and salicylic acid come together to smooth the skin and accelerate cell renewal. This can be used every day and thanks to a blend of green tea, ginkgo and oatmeal, complexions are calmed, inflammation is eased and you’re left with clear, refreshed skin which is exactly what you want.

If you struggle to sleep when you are away, then why not take the Elemis LIFE ELIXIRS Sleep Perfume Oil on holiday with you. Made from a mix of 13 pure essential oils, including elemi, patchouli, and palmarosa, this gorgeous oil helps restore your mind and body. Things don’t stop there as the deeply relaxing scent will help you drift off to sleep so you wake the next day feeling refreshed, restored and ready for fun.

If you are not sure what products would best suit you this summer, get in touch and we would love to help find something that is perfect for you and your trip.

Team Pure Beauty

A quick guide to mindfulness for a happier life

Tags

adrenaline, apps, attention, bath, be at one, benefits, books, breath, breathing, brushing your teeth, calling, Calming, dinner, easier, easy, eat, enjoy, evening, experience, feel happier, feelings, focus, heart rate, here and now, improve, lunchtime, media, medite, mental wellbeing, mind, mind and body, mindful, people, present moment, progress, reconnect, regular basis, Relax, sensations, simply tips, sit down, sitting, sleeping patterns, slow, slowly, smell, sound, space, stop, stresses, take, taste, ten minutes, thoughts, train, tube, understand, walk to work, wanders, weekend, win, world, worries

Mindfulness is being talked about in the media today more than ever, but what’s it all about?

Quite simply, mindfulness is an awareness of ourselves as well as the world around us and it can improve our mental wellbeing, calming the mind and allowing us to focus on the here and now.

If we are more aware of the present moment, it can help us enjoy the world around us more and understand ourselves better. If this happens, we can experience and enjoy the people and things we have been taking for granted, and leave behind the stresses we don’t need.

What does it involve?
Just taking notice of your thoughts, feelings, sensations and the world around you is the first step towards mindfulness.
There are books, apps, and courses that give you a structured way to bring mindfulness into your life, but at the heart of it, what you are doing is stopping for a while and focusing on your breathing. You will then notice that your heart rate slows down, adrenaline production is reduced and you feel more relaxed. With practice you can develop greater focus, better sleeping patterns and start to feel happier as well.

It is true that some of us find the idea of sitting with our thoughts when we are stressed or unhappy, quite difficult, so we have some simple tips that could help you get to grips with mindfulness.

Mindfulness isn’t easy to learn at first, so you can start by reading up about it some more, taking a course, joining a group or using an app like Calm.

It is thought that just ten minutes of mindfulness meditation a day can bring massive benefits when it is done on a regular basis. If you can, do it at the same time each day – maybe when you are on the tube, at lunchtime or before you have a bath in the evening, and it’s at this time when you can really be at one with yourself and leave behind your worries and fears. Clear this space each day, stop everything else and practise your mindful meditation.

Start with short bursts of three, five or ten minutes – you can even do it on the train.

When you sit down to meditate, take a few moments to get comfortable. Notice the sounds around you and how you’re feeling. This will help your mind and body reconnect, so when you do start focusing on your breath, it’s a little easier.

When you are practicing mindfulness and meditating, all you need to do is notice your breath and when your attention wanders, which it will as you wonder what to eat for dinner or where to go at the weekend, let go of it and bring your focus back to your breath. Each time you do that, it’s a win and it gets easier.

When you progress and start to bring mindfulness to your daily life, our advice is to start slowly. We suggest that in week one, you are mindful when you are brushing your teeth – be aware of the sound, the smell, the taste, and the movement as you clean. Then build up slowly, adding a new thing each week, such as being mindful on your walk to work, or while stacking the dishwasher.

Mindfulness isn’t for everyone, but why not give it a try and in time we hope it can become a part of your life and one that will make things easier and happier for you.

Team Pure Beauty