FitSugar -- Healthy, happy you.

Honey for Your Sinuses?

FitSugar — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 03:00:00 -0700

Having just watched my husband suffer through yet another sinus infection (he has a deviated septum, so he is prone to them), I was excited to see that honey might provide a new cure for his ongoing problem. While the healing properties of this Biblical substance are not new to me, using if for chronic sinusitis, which affects millions of people still seems brilliant.

Canadian researchers found that two types of honey, manuka honey from New Zealand and sidr honey from Yemen, effectively killed antibiotic resistant bacterial strains that cause many sinus infections. Don't be putting honey in your neti pot just yet; the research scientists are hoping to create a medication based on their lab research. I am not sure that it will come cheaply though. Sidr honey is the most expensive honey in the world.

Until a honey remedy hits the market, just make sure to wash your hands regularly. Hand washing is still the most effective way to keep bacteria that lead to these types of infections at bay.

Source

Eating Local Honey Could Help Seasonal Allergies

FitSugar — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 11:00:00 -0700

Honey is all the buzz. Not only does it taste like Summer, but it has some amazing qualities that help your body. It's antimicrobial because of its high sugar content, so it's great for treating cuts and burns to prevent scarring. You can keep a jar in your medicine cabinet for years — it's slightly acidic, so it never goes bad.

I've also heard that honey can be used to treat seasonal allergy symptoms. In order to understand why, you need to know a bit about how honey is made.

Honey bees (the female worker bees) travel from flower to flower, drinking nectar, and storing it in sacs in their little bee bodies. Then they buzz back to their hive and use their "honey stomachs" to regurgitate and ingest (I know it sounds a little gross, but cool somehow) the nectar a number of times until it's partially digested. They then store the nectar in the honeycombs, fanning it with their wings to evaporate the water, turning it into the thick sweet honey we know and love.

So what does honey have to do with your allergies? To find out

Coughing Kid? Try a Spoonful of Honey

FitSugar — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 02:00:00 -0800

Since the FDA released a public health advisory warning parents not to give their children cold medicine, kids sick with colds and associated coughs suffered many sleepless nights. So did their parents. Luckily a new study found that honey is close to nature's own cough syrup. Yep, a spoonful of honey eases nighttime coughing in children better than the cough syrup ingredient dextromethorphan. This is great news for parents and kids alike!

It is believed that honey helps ease coughs for a variety of reasons. It not only soothes sore throats, but honey is also high in antioxidants and has antimicrobial effects. I guess if you are using honey as cough syrup, you really won't need a "spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down!"

If you are interested in the recommended dosage, just

Sweet Inspiration: Hives For Lives

FitSugar — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 16:45:00 -0800

Some stories just inspire and motivate, and this is a sweet tale of two young girls, sisters in fact. After losing their grandfather to throat cancer, Molly and Carly Houlahan decided to raise funds to help fight cancer by raising bees and cultivating honey.

The girls, ages 13 and 15, took over their grandfather's hives and created Hives For Lives. The Houlahan girls harvest honey, sell it, and then donate all the profits to the American Cancer Society. They have raised over $22,000 to date and are recruiting Helper Bees from across the country to join them in raising bees and selling honey to donate to cancer research.

You can purchase their honey directly from the Hives for Lives online store or you can find their honey at Whole Foods stores in Princeton, NJ; Devon, PA; and Pittsburgh, PA.

A natural sweetener made by teenage sisters with proceeds going toward cancer research – I'm all in.

At Home Spa Treatment: Papaya Mask

FitSugar — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 02:30:00 -0700

One great way to relax on the weekends is to pamper yourself with an at home spa treatment. Since alpha hydroxy is all the rage in skin care these days, why not use your own fruit to tap into the exfoliating powers of fruit acids? As my aesthetician says, "If you wouldn't want to eat it, don't put it on your face" since you can absorb chemicals through your skin.

Here is a natural facial mask featuring the tropical fruit power house: the papaya. The fruit enzymes found in papayas are know to aid and accelerate healing in skin disorders such as acne. In addition, the fruit enzymes gently exfoliate the skin. That is what I call a win/win situation.

What you need:

1 cup fresh pineapple
Half-a-cup fresh papaya
1 tablespoon honey

To see what you do, just

A Week In Review: FitSugar Roundup

FitSugar — Sat, 19 May 2007 04:00:00 -0700

Want to accessorize like Fergie-Ferg? Then check out the Terminator FuelBelt. Will you be both hydrated and cool? Well, it depends on how your are using the word "cool."

Worried about sun damaging to your skin? Well, don't let your SPF 30 turn into SPF 20.

Have you heard the term TOFI? The acronym means Thin Outside Fat Inside - read more about this condition here.

Planning a bachelorette party? Well I've got some great alternative ideas you might be interested in: private yoga class, S Factor strip exercise class, a spa or a Mehndi party.

I am so impressed with Tyra Banks' workout these days. She isn't doing crunches; she's boxing!!!

If you are feeling stressed out, you might just need a good cry.

Interested in taking your workout outdoors? Try a Boot Camp.

I want to hear what you have to say about vertical workstations - a desk set above a TreadMill.

Speaking of TreadMills - have you seen this doggie TreadMill.

Interested to know how Hilary Swank stays looking so trim? Interestingly enough, she believes in moderation.

What do you hate most about going to the gyno? Tell me here.

Plagued by seasonal allergies? I got two ideas for you: eat local honey or try hot pepper nasal spray.

Tight hips? You must try the Double Pigeon. It's a great stretch.

Here are some ways to avoid foot pain caused by running.

Source and Source

Weekend Well-Being: Make Your Own Pizza

FitSugar — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 03:30:00 -0700

Making your own pizza is one of the most satisfying things a person can do. A lot of time, effort, and love goes into a homemade pizza, and it tastes like nothing else.

Now I don't mean buying a ready-made crust like Boboli - I mean making the pizza dough. Once you know how, it's really quite easy, and healthier too. It'll take some time to let the dough rise, so that's why making pizza is great for the weekend.

Want to see my recipe for Homemade Pizza? Then

Lite'n it Up Recipe Feature - Yogurt + Apples = Yum!

FitSugar — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 12:30:00 -0700

Looking for a tasty dessert or snack that is healthy as well? User celebrity_soup posted this great recipe that is made from ingredients most of us have anyway:

Ok guys, so just now I was craving something sweet and healthy.
My mom suggested an apple, but nahh!
So I wipped up something yummy, sweet and healthy with the apple!
What you ask?
A yogurt and apple sweet treat. Enjoy!

What you need:

- 1 grany smith apple
- 1 cup of plain yogurt
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
- 2 tablespoons of honey

How to make:

Its all very easy. Just cut the apple into bite size pieces (like you see above) and toss in all the ingredients above!

Print recipe with images | without images

Have you joined Lite'n it Up, the healthy recipe group, yet? There are tons of fabulous ideas such as these recipes for banana bread and chicken with shallots, as well as a handy way to skim the fat off liquids:

All this and more can be found in the group! Share your recipes and tips too! By the way, if they are not your own creations, please be sure to source where it came from and I just may feature your idea right here on FitSugar.

Home Spa Treatment: Brown Sugar Body Scrub

FitSugar — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 17:00:00 -0800

I have written about the joys of sugar scrubs before, but here is a recipe to make your own.

Mix in a plastic bowl:
½ cup of raw turbinado sugar (or brown sugar)
¼ cup of honey
Add 3-4 drops of essential oil if you have some around.

Use scrub all over your body once you are in the shower. If you have bath gloves or a loofah use those for scrubbing. Focus a little extra on areas that tend to get dry like elbows and heels.

Wash the scrub away with water and then enjoy your sweet smelling, soft skin.

Chai Tea - Raise a Cup to Your Health

FitSugar — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 02:30:00 -0800

What is not to like about tea? Tea and especially chai tea help prevent and fight many different kinds of cancer, lower cholesterol and blood pressure, and may reduce the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease.

The fact is - every ingredient in chai tea is good for you, and when you put them all together they pack a powerful punch for your immune system.

Chai is a great alternative to your morning cup of coffee - a 5 ounce cup of coffee contains 200 mg of caffeine and black tea contains half that.

In the winter, after a long day of playing out in the snow, it's nice to come home, take a hot shower and curl up on the couch with a steaming cup of chai tea. Of course you can buy chai tea packets, but nothing compares to making it yourself.

Want to see my recipe? Then

Alert Energy Ballz

FitSugar — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 10:00:00 -0800

Once again, Yum has come through giving me quite the treat from the Fancy Food Show in San Francisco. One reoccurring theme in the show was energy -- People want more of it and they want it pop-able.

Enter Alert Energy Ballz ($60 for 60 ballz per box, 2 ballz per sack). I will admit, at first I was very hesitant but after reading the ingredients (oat flour, honey, chocolate, cinnamon among other stuff) and seeing that one ball has only 38 calories, I figured they're not as bad as an energy supplement could be, so I gave it a try.

I was pleasantly surprised with the taste and I will assure you that I definitely felt a surge of energy but it was not the jittery-I-need-more type of energy. Each ball has 40 mg of caffeine from Gurana Extract (just to give you a comparison, coffee has 47-164 mg per 5 ounce serving) so it packs a natural kick.

Other good stuff in the ballz: Whey Protein, Taurine, Ginseng, B Vitamins, Vitamin C and a decent amount of dietary fiber for such a little ball. To order some online, visit FunEnergyFoods.com.

Fit's Tip: Ballz are great for a pick me up once in a while, but if you're feeling a real lack in energy then you should really re-evaluate your diet and exercise to find the problem rather than relying on a supplement.

Healthy Honey

FitSugar — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 07:30:00 -0800

What's the buzz? Honey has so many wonderful characteristics besides its natural sweet flavor - they don't call it the "ancient healer" for nothing.

Besides being great at soothing a sore throat, check this out, Honey....

it could be helpful in treating your allergies.
it's antimicrobial because of its high sugar content, so it's great for treating cuts and burns to prevent scarring.
it contains vitamins B6, thiamin, niacin, riboflavin, and pantothenic acid.
it also has minerals like calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, potassium, and zinc.
it contains natural antioxidants such as vitamin C.
There are over 300 different varieties of Honey, ranging in color and flavor, depending on what plants the bees gather nectar from.
Honey never goes bad, because it's slightly acidic, bacteria won't grow in it.

Fit's Tip: Using Honey in your baked goods will keep them moist for a longer period of time.