Category: Well-Being

Although the United States does not have the highest rate of obesity in the Americas (that honor goes to Mexico), more than one-third of all adults in the U.S. are fat, and the rate isn’t going down anytime soon. It’s a startling figure, especially when contrasted to data from nations like Japan and India, where obesity levels are much below 5%.

Why is there a contrast? A variety of factors influences obesity rates, but it all comes down to what individuals eat and how they consume it. The good thing is that healthy eating habits can be borrowed from countries worldwide, while less nutritious ones may be left on foreign territory.

1. Japan

What’s a surprising Japanese habit to adopt? The focus is on the look of the food. A visually appealing—and healthy—plate combines small amounts with colorful, seasonal vegetables. Small servings keep calories down, while veggies deliver a variety of vitamins and minerals.  Skip eating fishes like tuna, king mackerel, and swordfish. They contain mercury, an element that can damage nerve cells. Rather than maguro (tuna) and nama-saba (mackerel), consume sake (salmon), Ebi (shrimp), and ika (squid).

Another beneficial Japanese habit is the practice of hara hachi bu, which means eating until you are 80% full. This tradition, originating from Okinawa, encourages mindfulness and helps prevent overeating. Additionally, incorporating more fermented foods like miso, natto, and pickled vegetables can improve gut health due to their probiotic content. Traditional Japanese meals often include a variety of small dishes, allowing for diverse flavors and nutrients in one sitting, which can lead to a more balanced and satisfying diet. By adopting these habits, you can enhance both the enjoyment and nutritional value of your meals.

2. China

Grip chopsticks: Chopsticks will help you eat more slowly, which means you’ll eat less. Moreover, studies have shown that people who consume more quickly are more prone to be fat and suffer from heart disease.  Orange chicken should be avoided (and other Americanized Chinese food). You should not consume meat that’s been coated in sweet sauce (which is why it tastes so nice). Instead, go for lo mein or stir-fry dishes.

Incorporating traditional Chinese food practices can further enhance your dining experience. Chinese cuisine often emphasizes balance and variety, with a focus on fresh vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains. Ingredients like ginger, garlic, and green onions not only add flavor but also offer health benefits, such as boosting the immune system and improving digestion. Drinking tea, especially green or oolong tea, during meals is another common practice that aids digestion and provides antioxidants. By embracing these authentic elements of Chinese dining, you can enjoy a more nutritious and flavorful meal.

3. USA

The United States offers a diverse culinary landscape, heavily influenced by a mix of cultures and traditions from around the globe. One prominent aspect of American eating habits is the preference for convenience food. Fast food restaurants and pre-packaged meals are a significant part of the American diet. These options are popular due to their affordability and time-saving attributes. However, they often come with high levels of sugar, salt, and unhealthy fats, contributing to the country’s high obesity rates. On the flip side, there is a growing trend towards organic and farm-to-table dining, with many Americans becoming more conscious about their food choices and opting for fresher, locally sourced ingredients.

Another notable food habit in the USA is portion size. Serving sizes in American restaurants and at home are generally larger than those found in many other countries. This tendency towards larger portions can lead to overeating and plays a significant role in calorie consumption and weight gain. Tourists traveling to Sin City, as well as residents, love checking out area15 Las Vegas The Beast which is well known for its fair portions and authentic American food. Nonetheless, there is a rising awareness around portion control, with some restaurants offering smaller plate options and individuals practicing mindful eating to better manage their food intake. Amidst these habits, the unique element of American dining culture is its adaptability and innovation, continuously evolving to incorporate healthier eating practices while retaining its rich and varied culinary heritage.

4. France

Tempt your taste buds: According to one study, the French equate eating with pleasure (rather than health), and the nation has less obesity and heart disease levels than the United States. Americans, however, are more worried about how nutritious their food is, yet they enjoy eating less. Instead of a big section of a “healthy” snack like frozen yogurt, try a little amount of a delicacy you enjoy (a rich, dark chocolate nugget fits the bill) and enjoy the senses.

The regular pastry should be avoided. Much like most buttery morning pastries, a choco croissant is high in simple carbs, sugar, and fats (a.k.a. not a great start to the day). Over most days, go for healthier options like oatmeal or yogurt, and reserve the pastry for special occasions.

5. Ethiopia

The classic Ethiopian flatbread injera is abundant in fiber, Vit C, and protein. Root vegetables, legumes, and lentils are essential in the Ethiopian diet, low in milk and animal products. Make your injera or use teff grains instead of rice in a rice alternative.

This dish is best served as a family meal. Shared foods are picked up with injera in the typical Ethiopian diet. Put individual servings on a plate to make it simpler to see how much you’re consuming while eating this way.

6. India

Spice things up. Indian food has a lot of spices, which give them a lot of taste, a lot of colors, and a lot of healing properties. Turmeric, ginger, and red pepper are some of the spices that may help decrease cholesterol. Onions and garlic, which are commonly used flavorings, can also help to reduce your risk of heart problems.

Creamy sauces should be avoided. Several recipes have an unusually high saturated fat content thanks to ghee (clarified butter) and full-fat coconut milk. Ease up on the rich dishes if you’re trying to prevent or limit saturated fat in your diet. Instead, opt for tandoori-grilled meat and tomato-based soups.

7. Mexico

Enjoy your lunch: Almuerzo, a lunchtime meal that is the largest meal of the day, is a part of the traditional Mexican culture. According to recent research, eating a good dinner in the evening may be a major contributor to weight gain.

Refried beans are a no-no. Beans have lots of protein, fiber, and vitamins. Cooking them in butter or oil, on the other hand, greatly increases the calories. For a healthier burrito, use dried or low-sodium canned beans.

8. Italy

Dine and Drink: Have a glass of wine with your meal, but don’t overdo it. Moderate alcohol consumption—one glass a day for women and two glasses per day for men—has been shown in studies to lower your risk of heart disease and prolong your life. For non-alcoholics, you can have your preferred beverage in glass bottles for juice.

Pasta plates should be avoided. For otherwise fit Italians, a pasta-heavy meal has been found to raise heart disease risk. Replace spaghetti squash for ordinary noodles and serve a veggie-rich soup for a healthier take on Italian night.

9. Greece

The medical benefits of the Mediterranean diet are no longer a secret. Classic Mediterranean food mainly consists of fruits, vegetables, cereals, and legumes, with only trace amounts of protein, fish, milk, and olive oil. You can also consume bottled and jarred packaged goods.

Phyllo flour should be avoided. We know that spanakopita is loaded with spinach, but the buttered pastry is loaded with refined carbs. A normal entrée-size dish of spanakopita can have the same amount of fat as a bacon cheeseburger!

10. Sweden

Although Scandinavian food does not include many vegetables, it does contain several healthy items. Rye bread is basic, and it has a lot of fiber, which will keep you feeling full. For a fiber-rich option to white or whole-wheat bread, make a sandwich on rye.

Avoid Salt, mainly if you’re prone to high blood pressure. Traditional Nordic meals, such as smoked salmon, are high in salt. As an option, try preparing your smoked fish—still, it’s delicious but helps maintain the sodium under control.

The Bottom Line

There is no such thing as a universally healthy (or harmful) diet. However, the meals of places with cheaper rates of chronic illness have a few traits. All stress the need to eat lots of fruits, veggies, grains, and healthy fats and enjoy your meals.

Turn to different cuisines for culinary ideas, new flavors and ingredients, and diverse eating habits. Combine aspects from these many diets to build your form of healthy eating.

Word games are one of the best ways to improve vocabulary, have fun, learn new words, and compete in a national or international tournament. To win word games, you need to be skilled in learning and using new words.

Word games expose you to new words in a fun way. However, using new words is not all you need to be the best in a word game. You also have to learn strategies and techniques to be better than your opponent in friendly and competitive games. Here are some of them.

1) Start Easy

Start playing the easy-level games first before going for hard-level games. You can start playing using smaller grids and small letter words to gain momentum and confidence.

Small grids also allow you to learn more two or three-letter words, which makes games like Boggle and Words With Friends much easier. Start playing with your friends and families first before trying to get yourself involved in tournaments.

2) Play According to the Game

You might think that all word games are the same and that learning new words can help you win them all, but that is not true. Different games require different strategies to win.

For instance, you can score more points in Scrabble using longer words. Because it gives you a better chance to score Bingos and restricts your opponent from scoring points using your words.

However, using smaller words is a more appropriate approach in games like Boggle because you and your opponent do not share a board in this game. So, using smaller words gives you more opportunities to take advantage of these words rather than your opponent.

3) Use Online Tools

Using online tools to learn and use new words in word games can also benefit you. One of the USPs of these online tools is that you can search for new words by typing letters, character length, and their initials.

It becomes easier solving letters puzzle using online tools. You can use these tools for any word games like Scrabble, Boggle, Bananagrams, Words With Friends, etc.

You can also use these word tools to improve your vocabulary only if you do not want to play word games. Search for words with different letters and character lengths daily to improve your vocabulary.

4) Run After Letter Patterns

Learning letter patterns also play a vital role in winning the word games. Anyone can find several patterns and clusters in the English language, but only a few of them spend time learning them.

It becomes easier to create new words once you become familiar with a pattern. You can start by recognizing patterns at the starting, middle, or end of a word. Here are some examples of these letter patterns

1. tion,
2. ing,
3. ion,
4. er, and more.

Learning these patterns also improves your spelling, which also plays a vital role in winning word games.

5) Prefixes and Suffixes

Adding a prefix or suffix to an existing word is one of the best ways to score more points without using more tiles. Imagine your opponent creating a new word, and you add an s or es to that and get more points.

You can also add suffixes like ed, er, ing, etc., to change the tense of the word. You can add prefixes like un, im, dis, etc., to make the words longer and score bonus points in Scrabble.

You can also click here to see a list of commonly used prefixes and suffixes in the English language.

6) Two and Three-Letter Words Are the Key

Not all games ask you to learn longer words to win them. You can also learn small words to win many word games. Learning more two and three-letter words makes a significant difference.

You can learn small words with high-scoring letters like X, Z, Q, K, etc., to score more points and use the letter tiles more efficiently.

Wrapping Up

Winning word games are easy as long as you are willing to learn. Learning new words, letter patterns, rhymes, etc., can take your word games to a new level.

You might also want to play 2-3 word games daily to keep learning new letters in a fun way.

If you have a kid heading back to school, you have a lot on your plate. There are many things to think about as the new school year begins, including your child’s mental health. You can’t be at school with them, but you can prepare them to face any challenge. Prioritize your child’s mental health this year with these tips.

Bullying

Bullying can have serious, long-lasting effects on your child’s mental health. It can lower their self-esteem and cause feelings of rejection and isolation.

Kids that struggle with bullying can suffer from anxiety and depression, which can escalate to acute stress or post-traumatic stress disorder without proper intervention. Bullying also increases the risk of your child engaging in risky behaviors, including violence and substance abuse.

Talk to the school about a bullying situation, but also explain to your child that this happens to many kids and assure them that they’re perfect just the way they are.

You can help your child by creating a list of responses for them to give when someone says something hurtful to them. This could be a calm “Leave me alone” or “Back off.” Another good response is to dismiss the bully’s words with an “OK” or “Whatever” or laugh at the comment to reduce its value. Responding with more insults will only escalate the situation.

You can practice those responses with them in role-play scenarios so they feel more prepared when they encounter them at school. You can also help build their confidence by putting them in activities and social situations where they thrive.

Peer Pressure

Peer pressure can lead to adverse mental health effects, make kids do things they know are wrong, or encourage unhealthy thinking and habits. Negative peer pressure can lead to anxiety, depression and isolation. The stress from wanting to fit in and the temptation to do the wrong that comes from it can be overwhelming for your child.

You can help your child cope with pressure in a few ways. First, create open communication with them about any actions or concerns without scolding or judging them.

Also, be sure to teach your child to assert their boundaries and help them come up with creative solutions to get out of situations where they’re uncomfortable. Teach them that real friends won’t try to force them into a harmful activity and will respect their boundaries and wishes.

Don’t be afraid to share your experiences with peer pressure and what you’ve learned from them. Make an effort to get to know your child’s friends and their families so you better understand their environment. Encourage your child to seek positive relationships and friendships.

Organization

At first, it may not seem like being organized is in the same category as the other issues mentioned, but having an unclean environment can be a sign and trigger of poor mental health.

Taking time to declutter and organize your home helps your child start the school year off on the right foot by giving them a stress-free environment to begin and end their day. Teach them how to maintain their spaces so clutter doesn’t overstimulate their minds throughout the year.

Things scattered about your home can be overwhelming to everyone’s senses. The more items your eyes take in, the more overwhelmed your brain becomes. This increases anxiety.

Your home doesn’t have to be spotless, but having designated places for your items can help things seem more orderly and help your child’s senses relax.

Physical Health

Keeping your children healthy has always been a priority during back-to-school season, especially in recent years. Good physical health is closely tied to mental health  in many ways.

Missing school due to a cold or flu can be stressful for children. In addition to teaching them about good hand hygiene, you can also protect them from germs through a healthy diet. Prioritize making meals full of vitamins and nutrients that will boost their immune system.

Along with focusing on healthy food, you can also make an effort to encourage physical activity for the whole family. Going on family walks after school is a great way to boost everyone’s moods and bond together.

Social Media

Even when you closely monitor your child’s online activity, social media can still have a negative impact on their mental health.

Your child can easily fall into the trap of comparing themselves to others or setting unrealistic expectations for their life. This can lead to internalizing negative experiences and developing anxiety and depression over what they have and have not achieved.

To combat these risks, encourage your family to take technology breaks during the week. Whether you choose to do this every day or once a week, find ways for your family to spend time together without using your phones.

Parents, be sure to practice what you preach here. If you set a rule for your children not to check social media before bed, you should try to follow it, too. Not only will this set a positive example, but it will give you some relief, as well.

Prioritizing Mental Health

Prioritizing your child’s mental health helps them feel more confident and secure. You also show that you’re always there for them, no matter what the school year brings.

Help them combat peer pressure by utilizing these tips to ensure your child avoids being bullied.

Author bio:
Cora Gold is the Editor-in-Chief of women’s lifestyle magazine, Revivalist. She strives to live a happy and healthy life with her family by her side.

Follow Cora on Facebook and LinkedIn.

Kids spend twice as much time indoors as their parents do. But even when kids go outside to play, most have access to traditional playing space that comprises a traditional swing, slide, and a couple of climbing structures.

Playing in traditional playgrounds isn’t necessarily negative; it won’t boost a kid’s imagination, activeness, creativity, and problem-solving skills or make them want to play outside longer.

And this is where natural playgrounds come in, to help engage younger children. Having natural play environments will help kids reconnect with the great outdoors. The beauty of natural play environments is that they are easy and affordable to create. Even with limited space, natural play environments allow kids to find ways of engaging with whatever natural materials they are provided.

Before creating a natural playing environment for your kid, consider checking out a nature based playground, focusing on all the benefits it offers young kids. Next, create a positive attitude towards dirt by finding solutions to ensure your kids won’t bring dirt back into the house.

So, if you are looking to encourage outdoor exploration, discussed below are some key elements that will guide you in creating a natural play environment that is safe and fun. Happy reading!

Consider Creating A Sensory Garden

One main component of consideration when setting up a natural play environment has to be your kid’s five senses. Nature is filled with different opportunities for kids to use their senses. Creating a sensory garden will draw your kid’s attention to all that grows around them.

And since sensory gardens are to be explored through taste, smell, sight, touch, and hearing, the following are great ways of awakening those senses.

• Sound– nature has different exciting sounds from birds, animals, and the swaying of trees on a windy day. However, if your backyard isn’t close to nature, consider adding things such as wind chimes. Additionally, consider making instruments with a rhythm that can be played outside.
• Smell– plant different greenery and flowers that’ll produce pleasant smells. Young kids like to take time to smell all the scents around them.
• Touch– when it comes to touch, there are different options available around you. For instance, dirt is a great way of allowing kids to explore nature. You can set up a mud bucket or have a wheelbarrow for kids to push around.

Another great way of feeding your kid’s sense of touch is by creating a sandbox allowing them to build and dig around to their heart’s content. Expand the textures by getting sticks for the play space. Sticks offer versatility; kids can use their imagination to create endless possibilities. Most kids use sticks to build, write, draw, stack, or sort them into sizes and types.

• Sight– if you love flowers, your kids also enjoy looking at flowers. All the different colors and sizes of flowers offer fun ways for kids to learn about them.
• Taste– having a garden gives kids a great chance to engage with nature while still getting healthy food. Some great plants to incorporate in natural play environments include thornless berries, snap peas, beans, strawberries, etc.

Provide Safe Access To Water

Given the opportunity, kids will play with water all day long. As a result, consider providing safe access to water by adding a water source to your space. However, note that you’ll need to supervise your kid anytime they are around water.

Consider encouraging kids to pour the water on the ground, watch it flow, water the plants in the garden, mix it with soil, splash in it, or explore in any other safe way. But when allowing your child to enjoy the water, set your limit and teach them to be respectful of the source of their fun by not being wasteful.

Add Real Tools

Creating a natural play environment comes with encouraging kids to garden. So, when gardening, provide lightweight and safe tools for young kids. You can easily find miniature tools fit for young kids. For instance, you can get a small rake and broom that’s short and manageable that kids can use to help with yard work.

Set Aside Quiet Spaces

With everything to do, young kids get tired and might need time off. As a result, you need to create a space where kids can be still and rest. One great way is by adding a shelter that expands the possibilities. A wooden play house or bean teepee is among the best choices.

Inside the home, ensure there is a place for kids to do arts and crafts with all the resources available.  Your child may like to draw or paint. And let’s not forget that about the long winter months when play outside is limited.

Whichever option you settle, make sure the space is quiet without distractions and suitable for resting the body and mind. That’s a vital element in every natural play environment.

Here’s a quick video showing a good example of a natural play environment:

Bottom Line

You don’t have to stress about the space if you want to create a natural play environment for your young kids. Any space can hold great opportunities for your child to have memorable childhood experiences. Using the elements discussed above will make your kids enjoy playing in any natural environment.