UpstylerInc

Keep up with the latest in beauty, lifestyle, health and travel.

Lifestyle

The Spices of Life

By Leave a Comment

Spices have been used for thousands of years to improve the taste and aroma of food including food that was tainted. They were so important that it can be said that spices changed the history of the world. One reason that Columbus sailed to the new world was to find an all-water route to the spice islands in the east. In modern times, spices are used not only to enhance the taste and aroma of foods but for their health benefits. Turmeric, for example, is believed to have cancer fighting properties.

 

What’s the Difference Between an Herb and a Spice?


The differences between an herb and a spice can be complicated, but for many botanists an herb is a non-woody plant. But even here there are exceptions, for roses and rosemary become woody shrubs over time.

Many, but not all spices grow in the tropics, which was why an easy trade route from there to Europe was so important. They are often aromatic lichens or parts of woody plants such as trees, shrubs or vines. Often, spices are the roots, flowers, seeds or fruit of herbaceous plants. Cilantro, easy to grow in a garden, is considered an herb, Its seed, coriander, is considered a spice. Here are some commonly used spices:

Cardamom

 

Cardamon is native to India, Sri Lanka and Malaysia. The fruit of the plant is used. They are ribbed, roundish to oblong, and each one contains 14 to 20 seeds. The fruits are harvested just before the seeds are ripe and dried in kilns or in the sun. They’re sold whole to preserve the fragrance of the seeds. Cardamom pods are then split open, and the seeds are used in curries, stews and beverages.

Saffron 

This admittedly expensive spice is made from the stigmas of the saffron crocus. The expense of the spice probably has to do with the fact that these delicate stigmas have to be picked by hand then separated and dried in the sun. Saffron not only adds flavor and a delicious aroma to foods, but even a pinch of saffron dyes food bright orange-yellow. Like cardamom, saffron is used to make curry. Saffron comes in powdered form and as stigma threads.

Ginger 

This is one of the oldest and most commonly used of the spices. Grown in all warm countries, the spice is made from the rhizome, which is a type of root. Ginger root can be peeled and eaten raw when it’s young. It is peeled, sliced, minced, dried and powdered and added to stir fries, casseroles, soups and stews. Dried, powdered ginger also adds zest to curries.

 

Cinnamon 

Cinnamon is made from the bark of the cinnamon tree, an evergreen that grows to 60 feet tall in the tropics. The bark is cut off the stems of young trees, bundled and allowed to ferment. After that the outer layer is craped off and the bark rolled up and dried. Cinnamon joins ginger as one of the most popular spices. They are sometimes used together in desserts or Vietnamese pho.

Unexpected Ways Your Stress Reveals Itself to Others

By Leave a Comment

When people are under a great deal of stress, they often work hard to hide it from others. The problem is, stress and fear cause the same physiological reactions. Your body doesn’t know the difference between the fear of a lion about to eat you and the fear of a boss about to fire you. Biologically speaking, stress is just fear. Here are 5 ways your stress may be painfully obvious to others that you may be completely unaware of.

 

Poor oral health

If your significant other complains or makes comments about your sudden chronic halitosis, stress may be the culprit. Stress can cause your saliva glands to stop functioning properly, which in turn can give you dry mouth, which is a common cause of bad breath. Chronic stress also causes an overabundance of cortisol, which can weaken your immune system over time. Your mouth is constantly exposed to bacteria, which saliva helps to fight off. When your mouth is dry and your immune system is compromised from too much cortisol, your gums may be tender, sore or even bleed as a result.

 

Rapid weight gain or loss

Stress activates your “flee, fight or freeze” instinct, which sends a chemical cocktail of hormones and neurotransmitters flooding through your system, preparing you to flee, freeze or fight. Some of these include adrenaline and cortisol. The problem is, modern stressors often can’t be dealt with by fleeing, freezing or fighting, which just leaves and abundance of adrenaline and cortisol running loose in your system. In some people, excess cortisol causes them to eat too much while in others, it causes them to lose their appetite entirely. While you may be complete unaware of it, others are likely to notice a sudden drastic change in your weight.

 

Fatigue

If you’re constantly tired all the time, this might be a symptom of stress. There are many reasons for a link between fatigue and stress. The first is that when you are under stress, your muscles tense and tighten, which requires energy. Think of carrying an extra 10 lb. backpack all day and that’s essentially what stress does to you. Chronic stress can also lead to depression and there is a very strong link between depression and fatigue.

 

Moodiness and irritability

When you are constantly tired, you also have a tendency to be moody and irritable. Not to mention that whatever you are stressed about probably has a direct effect on your emotions as well. Most people are not happy when they are stressed out and over time this can take a significant toll on relationships. Everyone can have a bad day, but if you are tired, angry and irritable and the time, it might be a result of stress.

 

Erratic Behavior

Sometimes, people try and fight off the fatigue and irritability caused by stress by suddenly deciding to do something fun or spontaneous like skipping work that day or even jetting off somewhere for the weekend. While this may not be a bad thing in and of itself, chronic stress can cause ever more erratic behavior.

Take Care of Workplace Stress with These 5 Tips

By Leave a Comment

Individuals who are interested in optimizing productivity in the work setting should know that ongoing stress can compromise their ability to do so. However, there are a wide range of strategies that individuals can implement to limit their experience of work-related stress. Here are five of them:

 

Breathe.

One of the best ways to reduce your experience of stress is by breathing. This technique is imperative because breathing is known to regulate and enhance the functioning of multiple body systems that can be impaired by ongoing stress. In addition to regulating your respiratory system, conscious, intentional breathing can optimize your circulatory system.

 

Take A Walk On Your Lunch Break.

In addition to implementing breath work strategies, make sure that you access the power of getting outdoors to limit your experience of mental and physical anxiety. By doing so, you can access great health benefits like improved brain function. Enhanced brain function is particularly important during high periods of stress because anxiety tends to complicate and compromise an individual’s ability to think critically and clearly. Also note that stress can complicate a person’s ability to concentrate. However, getting out in nature is known to enhance concentration. With these realities in mind, think about the value of taking a walk on your lunch break each day.

 

Meditate.

Another strategy you can implement to reduce the occurrence of workplace stress is meditation. Note that meditation is one of the most powerful stress-busters on the block because it impacts the mind and body simultaneously. In terms of the mind, meditation helps people overcome their proclivity for dwelling in the cognitive state that many health experts refer to as the “monkey mind.” This mental state is marked by rumination and bouncing from topic to topic in a frenetic manner that precludes the individual from drawing any clear, meaningful conclusions. Meditation reverses this activity by enabling the individual to increase her or his ability to concentrate. Meditation is also known to reduce blood pressure and regulate the heart beat, each of which can counteract the effects of stress.

 

Optimize Your Work Environment.

There are numerous strategies you can employ to make your physical work environment a setting that reduces stress. One is posting inspirational quotes in your office to promote positive thinking and mood stability. Another is posting images of nature such as the sky, rivers, and mountains. Look at these images when you feel stressed so that your negative emotions are displaced by more positive states of consciousness like awe and tranquility.

 

Communicate With Your Boss Regularly.

One final strategy you can implement to decrease your level of workplace stress is regularly communicating with your boss. In many cases, there are work-related issues that your boss could alleviate if she or he knew they were causing you ongoing anxiety. Also note that in many cases, an individual’s boss is a leading cause of stress in her or his life. Yet if you regularly communicate with your boss, you can oftentimes address and resolve issues that are causing tension and negative emotions that lead to sustained stress.

 

Conclusion

If you’re serious about reducing or eliminating stress in the workplace, know that you can realize the goal. Five techniques you can use to get started are outlined above. Begin using them now so you can become a more productive, positive person in the work setting!

The First Steps to Leading a Zero-Waste Lifestyle

By Leave a Comment

With the increasing importance of taking care of our environment, more and more people are making the move to become waste-free. By consuming only products that don’t produce garbage, a zero-waste lifestyle is great for the planet, and using more natural products is better for your body as well. Getting started is the hardest part, so follow these five first steps to start on your zero-waste lifestyle.

1. Make more food from scratch.
When you buy prepared foods, they come with unnecessary plastic and foam packaging. To combat this, try to make more of your food at home. Invest in metal or glass containers to pre-package your own meals for the week. Making this sustainable in your life will help you keep making progress, so make it easy for yourself by preparing a week’s worth of meals at once.

2. Bring your own containers to the grocery store and coffee shop.
When you bring your own glass jar to carry bulk foods home, you eliminate plastic bags from your routine. Make the switch to glass or reusable containers for all bulk items, and washable cloth bags for produce and bread products. This allows you to take only what you need, so you’ll also throw out less food. Bring your own reusable coffee cup and you’ll save a plastic cup and straw from entering a landfill, and most coffee shops offer a small discount!

3. DIY your hygiene and beauty routine.
Make your own toothpaste, deodorant, and shampoo with the same base ingredients and store them in glass jars. Use natural ingredients like baking soda, coconut oil, and essential oils to create your own perfect blend. Once you stop buying plastic tubes and bottles full of products, you’ll notice that you can achieve the same results with simpler versions made by hand.

4. Just say no to extras outside the house.
It can be tough to resist peer pressure and the force of past habits, but once you make a determined choice you’ll be surprised how easy it is to maintain these new habits. Say no to plastic straws, disposable plastic bags, business cards you don’t need, and anything else you encounter in your day that you don’t need. It might be awkward the first time, but after you’ve established the habit it’s easy to decline things that don’t actually do anything to improve your life.

5. Ditch the paper goods in your cleaning routine.
Swap paper towels for a set of cleaning cloths that can be used to wipe up spills or clean around the house. These can be washed and reused rather than thrown away after one use. You can also switch to cloth handkerchiefs instead of single-use tissues. The more daring zero-waste consumers install a bidet to eliminate the need for toilet paper as well. With less paper products you’ll also save the empty rolls and plastic wrappers from going straight into the garbage, and these small amounts can really add up.

Your journey to becoming zero-waste doesn’t have to be perfect. Any step toward reducing waste is a step in the right direction. Pick any of these steps to get started, or go all in and try the whole list at once. Whatever you choose remember that you’re doing the planet and your body a favor!