How often do you notice products, such as bran cereal, that have big “heart-healthy” branding on the boxes? Some of that branding may include phrases like “helps lower cholesterol,” or something along those lines. The reason for that is because these cereals contain a certain amount of fiber per serving. Since eating more fiber is one of the best, science-backed ways to reduce cholesterol and improve heart health, eating that cereal must be healthy. Well, part of that explanation is correct. 

According to health experts, less than 5% of Americans consume the recommended daily intake (RDI) of fiber. Additionally, about 86 million American adults have borderline high cholesterol levels (total cholesterol over 200 mg/hdL). Generally speaking, the average adult should consume 25 to 38 grams of fiber per day. How can meeting those daily fiber goals help lower cholesterol? Continue reading to find out. 

How Does Fiber Lower Cholesterol?

Fiber is a complex carbohydrate that the body cannot digest. Because of that, fiber passes through the digestive tract without really being broken down. Although there are two types of fiber (soluble and insoluble), soluble fiber is the type that works to lower total and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or “bad” cholesterol. It does that by:

• Forming a gel-like substance in the intestinal tract that works to attract and trap cholesterol particles. That helps prevent those particles from being absorbed into the bloodstream. 
• Binding to bile acids in the intestines, which release bile acids to help digest fat. They also contain some cholesterol, so once they have completed digestive duties, the body usually reabsorbs them for later use. When fiber is present in the intestines, bile acids are excreted along with the cholesterol. At that point, the body uses less circulating cholesterol to make new bile acids, which ultimately decreases the amount of cholesterol in your blood.
• Gut bacteria feed on and ferment prebiotic soluble fibers. This fermentation process produces short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), which decrease cholesterol synthesis in the liver, helping to lower cholesterol levels in the bloodstream.

How Much Fiber Do You Need To Eat?

As stated earlier, the general recommendation for fiber intake is 25 to 38 grams per day. Most adults hover around 16 grams per day, but focusing on fiber is not enough to reduce cholesterol. Health experts encourage increasing your intake of soluble fiber. Research indicates that regularly consuming soluble fiber can help reduce total and LDL cholesterol levels by 5-10%. Eating two to 10 grams of soluble fiber per day is what causes these significant decreases in cholesterol. Aiming for the higher end of that range will only benefit your heart health. 

Foods That Are Rich In Soluble Fiber

Most fibrous foods do not contain as much solute fiber as you think. High-fiber foods, including vegetables, legumes, whole grains, fruits, nuts, and seeds, contain both soluble and insoluble fiber. The following list breaks down the soluble fiber content of the various foods:

• Beans: One-half cup of cooked black beans, kidney beans, or lentils offers one to three grams of soluble fiber
• Oats: One cup of cooked oats contains one to two grams of soluble fiber
• Brussels sprouts: One-half cup of cooked Brussels sprouts contains two grams of soluble fiber
• Fruits: One medium orange, pear, or apple contains one to two grams of soluble fiber
• Barley: A little less than one-quarter cup of cooked barley contains two grams of soluble fiber

What About Supplements?

If you require targeted support for fiber intake, you may want to consider a fiber supplement. Guar beans, inulin, psyllium husk, and beta-glucans are all forms of soluble fiber in fiber supplements. All of these forms of fiber have proven to lower cholesterol in clinical studies. A 2023 systematic review and meta-analysis found that each five-gram intake of soluble fiber was able to reduce LDL cholesterol by 5.6%. 

Eating more soluble fiber is one of the best things you can do for your overall cholesterol. Try to consume 10 grams of soluble fiber every day for the best cholesterol-lowering results. Decreasing stubborn LDL cholesterol isn’t easy, but soluble fiber can help!

SHARE:

The post How Much Fiber Do You Need Per Day To Lower Cholesterol? appeared first on Dherbs - The Best All Natural Herbal Remedies & Products.

It is easy to feel defeated if you’ve been hitting the gym five days a week with a consistent program and you don’t see muscle growth. Is something wrong with your plan? You are working hard to build your biceps, calves, lats, glutes, and pectorals, but you don’t see a difference. This begs the question, “What are you eating?”

Certain foods can help build muscle, but some foods actually hinder muscle growth. Sculpting your physique requires drive, sweat, and, of course, the right food. You may be getting your daily pump in, but if you are pumping your body full of the following foods, you may be depriving your muscles of the nutrients they need to grow.

A Six-Pack Of Beer

You won’t achieve your six-pack if you drink six-packs. Not only does alcohol mess with your body’s ability to process protein, but it may also prevent muscle recovery. All the extra carbohydrates from beer make it more difficult for muscle growth. If you are after a six-pack, put the bottles down and focus on fueling your body with whole grains, asparagus, almonds, Greek yogurt, and green tea. Additionally, stay away from hydrogenated oils and ultra-processed foods.

Diet Soda

The zero-calorie aspect of diet soda attracts a lot of people who want to lose weight and build muscle. Although diet soda doesn’t have calories, sugar, or fat, it has been linked to an increased risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes in several studies. The empty calories from diet soda add up in other ways, according to recent research. When people consume artificial sweeteners, they end up eating more calories throughout the day. That excess caloric intake can lead to weight gain, and that gain doesn’t show up in your biceps or lats. 

Doughnuts

Any food or beverage that is high in fat and low in protein is a problem if your aim is to build muscle. The reason for this is because you are eating way too many calories with very little protein. Say goodbye to the doughnuts and other sweets or fried treats because they don’t contain the nutrients that your growing muscles crave. Instead, feed your sweet tooth with protein-rich plain Greek yogurt topped with fresh fruit and a little drizzle of raw organic honey.

High-Sugar Breakfast Cereals

If you are running low on time in the morning and need to eat something in a pinch, cereal is a popular choice. Pour cereal in a bowl, add milk of choice, and enjoy. The problem with cereal is that some appear healthy, but in reality contain much more sugar than you realize. If you find sugar (or another name for sugar) in the top three ingredients on the nutritional label, skip it. If there are more than five grams of sugar per serving, toss it out. There are healthier cereal options, but you have to do your research. Choose options with at least three grams of fiber per serving and fewer than five grams of sugar per serving. Alternatively, start eating overnight oats or chia pudding because they are more nutrient-dense breakfast options.

Bagels

Did you know that your average store bought bagel contains about 400 calories? Add cream cheese to your bagel and you are consuming a breakfast full of refined carbohydrates and saturated fat. Neither the bagel nor the cream cheese aids your muscle gains. It is better to skip the bagel and opt for a slice of whole grain bread topped with all-natural peanut butter or almond butter. 

Sausages

Seemingly harmless and undeniably tasty, sausages are brimming with saturated fat, excess calories, and sodium. Additionally, sausages contain nitrites, which are preservatives that help prevent bacterial growth and maintain the appealing red colors in meat. Nitrites can lead to the formation of nitrosamines, which are chemicals that have been linked to cancer. It is healthier, and better for your muscle growth, to choose lean cuts of meat whenever you can. If you have a craving for sausage, choose nitrite-free options.

SHARE:

The post The 6 Worst Foods For Building Muscle appeared first on Dherbs - The Best All Natural Herbal Remedies & Products.

Americans love table salt, and they eat too much of it. Although the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends keeping daily intake of sodium to under 2,300 milligrams (mg), most American adults exceed this figure. In fact, it’s estimated that people eat an average of 3,000 to 3,500 mg of sodium per day. All of that excess sodium increases your blood volume and with it, your blood pressure. High blood pressure increases your risk of serious conditions like stroke and heart disease. 

Sodium is a necessary electrolyte that the body needs for many bodily functions. For example, the body requires sodium to maintain fluid balance, transmit nerve impulses, and to maintain muscle movement. If you are worried about high blood pressure, especially if it runs in your family, you should aim to limit your sodium intake to 1,500 mg per day. Cutting back to 1,000 mg per day could improve your blood pressure even more. 

While most people are mindful to steer clear of certain salty foods, they may not be aware of sneaky sodium bombs. French fries and movie theater popcorn are common high-sodium foods, but you need to be on the lookout for less obvious sodium sources. From canned veggies to bread and tortillas, beware of the following salty foods. 

Vegetable Juice

In theory, vegetable juice should be healthy, but it is a sneaky source of salt. Always read your labels! Sodium content is always listed per serving size, and a low-sodium serving should be 140 mg or less, according to the National Academy of Sciences. A can of tomato juice can contain more than 900 mg of sodium per an 11.5-ounce serving. If you want to enjoy healthy vegetable juice, make your own with a juicer or strain a blended vegetable mixture through a mesh sieve. 

Pasta Sauce

Pasta is an easy dinner choice because it doesn’t require a lot of time or effort, especially if you use jarred sauce. If you want to be more mindful of your sodium intake, you may want to rethink how you prepare your dish. On average, one cup of spaghetti sauce has nearly 1,000 mg of sodium. If you enjoy meat sauce, then you have to factor in additional sodium from the sausage or meatballs. Alternatively, make your own sauce by using ripe plum tomatoes, garlic, onion, and fresh basil. You can also toss your noodles with fresh vegetables and olive oil for a healthier, sauce-free pasta dish. 

Breakfast Cereal

A large percentage of the sodium that most Americans consume comes from cereals and other processed foods. One cup of cornflakes, for example, contains almost 270 mg of sodium, which can add up quickly if you don’t measure portion sizes. When you get into sugary cereals, you enter a world of food dyes, artificial flavors, and added sugars, all of which sabotage your health. Pre-made pancake mixes can also be secret sources of sodium, exhibiting over 450 mg of sodium per serving. 

Deli Meats

Sliced deli meats, hot dogs, bacon, and even turkey bacon are packed with sodium. One hot dog, for example, can contain as much as 700 mg of sodium. Two slices of regular deli ham can have close to 250 mg of sodium. People often consume more than one serving of these types of food, which only increases sodium intake. If you want to enjoy animal protein, opt for grass-fed/grass-finished beef or wild caught fish. Always check nutrition labels on meats because you never know if they are “plumped” with sodium to help them retain moisture. 

Canned Soups And Vegetables

Anything in a can typically contains sodium, especially canned vegetables and soups. That’s why you always have to check the nutrition labels and choose low-sodium products or “no salt added” products. A 10.5-ounce can of Campbell’s chicken noodle soup contains 2,225 mg of sodium, which nearly accounts for the recommended daily allowance. Canned beans or vegetables can contain nearly four servings of about 400 mg of sodium or more. To reduce your sodium intake, opt for fresh vegetables instead of canned varieties. If you want soup, use low-sodium stocks with fresh vegetables!

Bread And Tortillas

A six-inch flour tortilla can contain more than 400 mg of sodium, but this depends on the brand and ingredients. That number only increases as the tortillas get bigger. If you want to eat tortillas, opt for plain corn tortillas, which may only contain 15 mg of sodium per tortilla. Another sneaky source of sodium is bread, with an average slice containing 100-200 mg of sodium. This, of course, depends on the type of bread and the brand. If you want to watch your sodium and carb intake, opt for a lettuce wrap or portobello mushroom bun for more nutrients and extra flavor.

SHARE:

The post 6 High-Sodium Foods You Should Avoid appeared first on Dherbs - The Best All Natural Herbal Remedies & Products.

As the largest organ in the body, the skin requires extra special care. Most people tend to focus on topical or external care, applying all sorts of serums, oils, moisturizers, creams, lotions, scrubs, and more for optimal health. Although an excellent skin care routine can help improve your complexion, a healthy diet is truly at the foundation for healthy skin. On the other hand, the wrong diet can promote inflammation and lead to early signs of premature aging. This article highlights the worst foods for your skin. 

How Diet Affects Your Skin

One single food will not make or break the health of your skin, but certain eating patterns can. For example, certain foods have the ability to turn on or turn off certain gene expressions. This is in regards to genetic predispositions that make people more prone to things like acne, psoriasis, or eczema. Eating a standard American diet is one such eating pattern that promotes inflammatory markers that worsen the appearance and health of the skin. 

Over time, a diet that is rich in unhealthy fats, sugars, caffeine, and processed foods can also affect your gut. The gut has a direct connection to the skin via the gut-skin-axis, a bi-directional highway between gut cells and skin cells. According to research, inflammation in the gut can result in inflammatory skin responses, including swelling, redness, clogged pores, and more. Continue reading to learn about foods that negatively affect the health of your skin. 

Milk

Dairy products stimulate the release of hormone insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), which activates the skin’s oil glands. This may explain why dairy worsens acne for some people. At this time, experts don’t know why dairy products don’t affect everyone’s skin. Current research concludes that certain dairy products are bigger triggers for acne than others. Cow’s milk, especially skim milk, can lead to acne breakouts, but the exact connection is still a subject of debate. Is it the hormones transferred to the milk from lactating cows or the high sugar level in skim milk? More research is still necessary. 

Processed Meats

Salty foods promote dehydration, which can deplete your skin’s moisture levels. If the skin becomes too dry, the body produces more oil to moisturize it naturally, which can aggravate acne-prone skin. Processed meats are very salty and contain lots of saturated fats. Additionally, they contain nitrites, which are associated with the development of certain cancers. 

Whey Protein

Whey protein is very common in bars, powders, and other protein supplements. It is popular amongst people who want to build muscle and shed weight because it provides the body with fuel and keeps you feeling full. Although it may help you reach your lifting goals, it contains IGF-1, which stimulates the production of androgens and insulin. The increased production of these two substances increases sebum production on the skin, resulting in acne. If you want to continue supplementing with protein, consider plant-based powders or bars to form a healthier habit. 

Sugary Cereals

One serving of supposedly “healthy” cereals can contain as much sugar as a candy bar. When you consume excess sugar, you increase the risk of acne and premature aging. According to research, consuming too much sugar can disrupt the collagen balance in the body. Collagen is a protein found in skin and connective tissue, contributing to the skin’s elasticity and strength. If you compromise the collagen balance, your skin may look less plump and supple. 

Alcohol

One of the primary reasons that alcohol hinders the health of your skin is because it promotes inflammation within the body. The reason it does this is because the body interprets it as a toxin, which may trigger inflammatory responses in the skin. Additionally, many people mix alcohol with soda or juice, increasing your intake of sugar. This causes the body to produce more IGF-1, which stimulates your oil glands. Similar to processed meats, alcohol also has a dehydrating effect on the body and may even deplete the skin of antioxidant levels. 

Sweetened Drinks

Sugar lurks in the sneakiest of places, but one of the easiest places to find it is in beverages. Sodas, juices, energy drinks, and other drinks are the primary sources of added sugars in the American diet. These sugars create inflammation that activates the skin’s oil glands, exacerbating acne and contributing to premature signs of aging. When your blood sugar levels are high, sugar molecules attach to collagen fibers in the process of glycation. When collagen hardens, it breaks easily and results in fine lines or wrinkles.

SHARE:

The post These Are The Worst Foods For Your Skin appeared first on Dherbs - The Best All Natural Herbal Remedies & Products.

When it comes to managing heart health, serious lifestyle changes are often necessary. Incorporating more exercise is a great start, but diet tends to play a larger role, especially in regards to managing cholesterol and blood pressure. That means that you have to give up certain “bad” foods, some of which include pizza, burgers, bacon, fries, and sweets. In fact, a 2021 study reported that people who ate those foods regularly had a higher risk of heart disease.

What Is Cholesterol?

Found in your blood and cells, cholesterol is a waxy substance. Although the liver produces most of the cholesterol in the body, it also comes from the foods you eat. The body needs cholesterol for optimal organ function and to make hormones, digestive fluids, and vitamin D. There is low-density lipoprotein (LDL), which is the unhealthy type of cholesterol that builds up in the arteries and forms plaque. And then there is high-density lipoprotein (HDL), which is healthy cholesterol that transports excess cholesterol out of the arteries to the liver, where it removes it from the body. Having high cholesterol increases your risk of serious health conditions, as LDL can damage your arteries. 

It’s not easy to just give up certain foods, especially if you don’t have replacements to take their place. There are smarter food choices that can satisfy certain cravings without elevating cholesterol levels. Continue reading to learn about simple food swaps that can help you manage or lower cholesterol levels. 

Add Nuts To Salads, Not Croutons

The more carbohydrates you eat, especially simple carbs, the more you increase the risk of high LDL cholesterol levels. That means that you should ditch the croutons on your salad and replace them with heart-healthy nuts. According to a 2020 review of studies, regular consumption of tree nuts helped lower blood cholesterol levels. The results were consistent when the amount, type, and duration of nut consumption varied. Nuts boost HDL production and lower LDL levels due to their polyunsaturated fats. 

Ditch The Store Bought Dressings

On the subject of salads, ditch your store bought salad dressings and start making your own with healthier ingredients. More often than not, they are high in saturated fats and sodium, both of which contribute to higher LDL cholesterol levels. Drenching your salads in these types of dressings is like smoking cigarettes while jogging. The health benefits of the salad ingredients lose to the bottled dressings. Instead, whip up a quick dressing using fresh lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, apple cider vinegar, and spices. Click here to get more familiar with the different types of salads and dressings you can make.

Oats Instead Of Breakfast Cereal

Fiber is an essential part of the diet, and many people fail to consume the recommended daily amount. Soluble fiber, in particular, dissolves in the gut to form a thick paste that binds to cholesterol, preventing absorption. According to research, eating three grams of oat beta-glucan per day may reduce LDL cholesterol by 5-10% over one month. Ditch your sugary, processed breakfast cereal and start enjoying old-fashioned oats with grade A maple syrup and raisins. 

Roast Potatoes, Don’t Fry Them

If you want to help lower cholesterol, do your best to avoid French fries, especially frozen packaged varieties. Don’t order fries when you go out because they are doused in unhealthy oils. It’s better to roast potatoes or sweet potatoes and season them with sea salt, pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil. Both regular potatoes and sweet potatoes are nutritionally dense, offering potassium, vitamin C, and fiber. As long as you aren’t deep frying them, then you can reap their health benefits. 

Go Fish

While you don’t literally have to go to a river or the ocean and catch your own fish, it’s better to enjoy fish over red meat. Swapping fish for red meat may contribute to lower LDL levels, as most fish contain omega-3 fatty acids, which help reduce the risk of heart disease. Now, don’t just choose any fish at random, as some are not healthy. Swai fish, for example, is known to be quite harmful to your health. Do your best to avoid farmed fish and opt for wild caught varieties, including salmon, cod, tuna, mahi mahi, trout, and mackerel. 

SHARE:

The post Food Swaps To Help Lower Your Cholesterol appeared first on Dherbs - The Best All Natural Herbal Remedies & Products.

For people with or at risk of high blood pressure, salty foods are they enemy. In fact, high-salt foods are typically the reason for developing high blood pressure. An unfortunate reality is that Americans love salt, with over 40% of the sodium they consume coming from numerous sources. Salt bombs are not merely processed foods; rather, there are other surprising foods that drastically increase your sodium intake. 

Sodium is an essential electrolyte that the body needs to function correctly. It helps to maintain fluid balance, move muscles, and transmit nerve impulses. How do you distinguish the line between the right amount of sodium and too much, though? According to the latest Food and Drug Administration (FDA) dietary guidelines, American adults should keep sodium intake under 2,300 milligrams (mg) per day. For reference, that is just about one teaspoon of salt. Limiting your sodium intake to 1,500 mg per day may benefit you even more, especially if your goal is to reduce blood pressure. 

Most people have a general idea of what high-salt foods to stay away from. Fast food, movie-theater popcorn, and canned soups have tons of sodium, but there are other salt bombs you may not be aware of. 

Vegetable Juice

It may seem like a healthy beverage option, but bottled or canned vegetable juice can be incredibly high in salt. It’s a trap! One thing to note is that the sodium content on the nutrition label pertains to serving size. That means that if you buy a big bottle with multiple servings, you consume the amount of sodium for the amount of servings you drink. A can of tomato juice, for example, can have 900 mg of sodium in a 11.5-ounce serving. Make your own vegetable juice and the sodium content will reduce dramatically.

Bread

People love bread. When it arrives at the table before the meal, people gobble it up like crazy. Packaged loaves of bread that you buy in the store can have a sneaky amount of sodium. Again, it comes down to carefully reading the labels. All grains are not created equal. One hamburger bun, for example, may contain 200 mg of sodium, and a regular slice of bread can contain 150 mg of sodium. It’s better to cook up whole grains like farro, wild rice, steel cut oats, or buckwheat to reduce your salt intake. 

Deli Meats

Cold cuts, cured meats, canned meats, and other meats from the deli counter can pack a salty punch. A two-ounce serving of cold cut meat or salami can contain between 500-1020 mg of sodium, which is 33-68% of the recommended daily intake. Additionally, most deli meats contain phosphate salts and other preservatives that manufactures include during processing. That packaged ham you put on your sandwich averages 1,100 mg of sodium per three-ounce serving. 

Sauces And Condiments

Canned sauces and condiments are one thing: convenient. Every person may not want to take the time to make sauces, dressings, marinades, and more from scratch. Unfortunately, there’s a salty price to pay for using these store bought items. One tablespoon of teriyaki sauce averages 690 mg of sodium, while the same amount of barbecue sauce has about 175 mg of sodium. The same tablespoon of ketchup may contain 150 mg of sodium and the average soy sauce packet can contain 1,000 mg of sodium. Jarred pasta sauce or curry sauce also packs an insane amount of sodium. For example, one cup of spaghetti sauce can have 1,000 mg of sodium. You can easily make your own sauce from ripe plum tomatoes, fresh basil, garlic, and onions!

Breakfast Cereal

Take into account that the average American consumes between 3,000-3,400 mg of sodium per day. Now, factor in the sneaky breakfast sodium bomb that is cereal. Cornflakes contains nearly 200 mg of sodium per serving, which adds up quickly if you just dump cereal into a bowl and dig in with a spoon. Some cereals have as much as 300 mg of sodium per serving, which can add up quickly, since most people exceed the serving size. 

SHARE:

The post 5 Sneaky Sources Of Sodium In Your Diet appeared first on Dherbs - The Best All Natural Herbal Remedies & Products.

This is a great raw breakfast item that makes you reminisce of eating cereal. It’s like eating a bowl of granola with your favorite fruit. Whether or not you choose to make the homemade almond milk is up to you. Enjoy this healthy breakfast!

SHARE:

The post Muesli Raw Morning Cereal With Almond Milk appeared first on Dherbs - The Best All Natural Herbal Remedies & Products.

This is a great raw breakfast item that makes you reminisce of eating cereal. It’s like eating a bowl of granola with your favorite fruit. Whether or not you choose to make the homemade almond milk is up to you. Enjoy this healthy breakfast!

SHARE:

The post Muesli – Raw Morning Cereal with Almond Milk appeared first on Dherbs - The Best All Natural Herbal Remedies & Products.

A lot of people have different vices. While consuming caffeine isn’t the worst habit, there are negative side affects to ingesting too much of it. Side effects of excess caffeine consumption can include increased belly fat, anxiety, or even insomnia. If you continue to pass off these symptoms, your health will only worsen over time.

For most people, coffee is the primary source of caffeine. A lot of others drink black/green tea, energy drinks, or soda. Energy drinks and sodas are not only full of caffeine, but they are also loaded with sugar; and if it isn’t sugar, it is a horrible sweetener like aspartame.

If you are trying to cut back on your caffeine consumption, eliminating the sodas and energy drinks is a good place to start. There are, however, other foods that contain caffeine. The USDA doesn’t require manufacturers to list the caffeine content on nutrition labels, so be on the lookout for the following foods if you are trying to avoid caffeine.

Chocolate

Cocoa beans contain caffeine, which means most chocolate has a certain caffeine percentage. Generally speaking, darker chocolate contains more caffeine. A Milky Way Midnight bar contains 14 grams of caffeine, whereas a Hershey’s Special Dark bar only contains 31 milligrams.

Hot Cocoa

The nights are getting colder and kids are starting to yearn for hot cocoa. Regular hot chocolate powder mix is not only loaded with chemicals and sugar, but it can also contain about 10 milligrams of caffeine. Things to think about if you are trying to wind your children down at night.

Breakfast Cereals

We all know that many breakfast cereals contain tons of sugar. Some of these chocolaty, marshmallow filled cereals can pack up to 11 milligrams of caffeine per serving. It isn’t just a sugar rush that you are getting.

Decaf Coffee

Surprised? Despite the name, decaf coffee does not necessarily mean that it is caffeine-free. The FDA requires 97% of caffeine to be extracted from coffee beans if they are being labeled as decaffeinated. That remaining 3% can pack a little umph, if you’re picking up what we’re laying down. Some decaf coffees can contain 28-32 milligrams per cup.

Headache Medications

Caffeine can comprise up to 40% of headache medications. The reason for this is because caffeine helps the medication release into your system more quickly. This is why certain brands will use terms like “fast-acting.” Be careful that you don’t take one or two tablets before bed because you may get a jolt of energy.

SHARE:

The post Caffeine Is Hidden In These 5 Surprising Foods appeared first on Dherbs - The Best All Natural Herbal Remedies & Products.

You may find it interesting to know that breakfast cereal was once considered to be a remedy for Americans in the 1800s. The American diet was one packed with meat, caffeine, and liquor. Yes, we are talking about the 1800s and not the present day, although the current American diet is nearly identical!

Cereal was invented during the Civil War, a time when Americans were continuously suffering from gastrointestinal issues. By the way, a high percentage of Americans still suffer from gastrointestinal issues, primarily due to, you guessed it, unhealthy diets. Health reformers in the 1860s believed that this protein-filled diet was the cause of constipation and other gastrointestinal issues. Cereal came to the rescue.

Before cereal contained processed ingredients, added sugars, enriched ingredients, preservatives, and MSG, it was a food product that helped aid digestion. It was not necessarily appetizing, given that it was bran nuggets, which people couldn’t swallow unless they soaked them overnight. Was that the beginning of overnight oats??? We can’t say, but we like to think so.

Dr. James Caleb Jackson invented these bran nuggets, and he also operated what would now be considered a health resort. People went there to improve their health. One of the patrons included went on to start the Seventh Day Adventist religion and another patron, John Kellogg, ended up creating granola. He later collaborated with his brother to make the infamous corn flakes, which quickly gained popularity.

The health food that cereal once was started to change in the early 1900s. Companies began adding sugar to cereal in order to hook children on the product. Additional marketing used cartoon characters and inspirational figures on the cereal boxes to increase sales. In the present day, roughly half of the American population consumes cereal to start the day.

We can’t undo what has been done to cereal, but we can suggest healthier ways to begin the day. Rather than chipping away at your health by eating sugary cereals and hormone-filled, ultra-pasteurized dairy products, try the hearty breakfast options below. You’ll be surprised how good they taste and how great they are for you.

Maple, Fig, And Tahini Overnight Oats

It’s nice to wake up and have breakfast ready for you to eat. That’s what these overnight oats are for! It only takes about 5 minutes to prep them, and then you stick them in the fridge overnight to have a tasty and nutritious breakfast the next morning.

Click here to make the recipe.

A Healthy Take On A Breakfast Classic

Are you the type of person who tends to be in a rush every morning? You are not alone, but it doesn’t mean that you should sacrifice your breakfast time and grab something unhealthy. Make this recipe to sustain yourself until lunch.

Click here to make the recipe.

SHARE:

The post Raise Your Spoons For National Cereal Day 2018 appeared first on Dherbs - The Best All Natural Herbal Remedies & Products.