With spring in full bloom, there are a lot of myths starting to go around about ways to treat seasonal allergies. Here’s one: Did you know that eating local honey can combat seasonal allergies?
Well, as delicious as it sounds, it’s false. Although local honey is made from the pollen bees collect from flowers in your area, the cause of allergies is actually due to pollen from trees, grass and weeds and not necessarily flowers.
Keeping up with your allergies can be frustrating and often requires medication. But we’re here with a few tips that will help curb your allergies and keep you enjoying the spring weather.
Find out exactly what you are allergic to – By contacting your doctor and testing to find out what is bothering you the most, you can more directly target your allergies and receive the right medication for the job. This might include shots and other alternative methods.
Understand your medication – If you are prescribed any medication or are looking to over-the-counter options, make sure you fully understand what you are taking and what they are meant to treat. It’s easy to confuse antihistamines and decongestants but the two perform very different roles. Make sure you know which is right for you.
Wash your hair and clothes regularly – This will be sure to get rid of any pollen or allergens you may have collected while in a certain area that can agitate you later.
Groom pets regularly – This is twofold. First, grooming your pets will help remove any dander that may cause allergies. Second, pets can carry in pollen just as easily as the wind. Keeping them clean will prevent any unwanted pollen from making its way into your home.
Keep an eye on the weather – Many factors play into allergies. High winds and low humidity allow more pollen to carry through the air. If this is the case, try to avoid being outside for long periods of time between 5AM and 10AM, the peak pollen hours of the day.
Try natural cures – The herb butterbur has been found in some studies to work as well as antihistamines do without the drowsy side effects. Explore and see what works for you.
Use a neti pot if things get bad – If you’re suffering from an attack, rinse out your sinus with some saline and wash your face, hands and hair. This will help quell the allergies or get rid of them completely.
We hope these tips will keep you happy and allergy free this spring. Because, let’s face it – there’s no need to stay inside if we don’t have to! If you’ve got a secret that keeps you allergy free, we want to hear it. Join the conversation by commenting below or on Facebook and Twitter.
If there is one thing no one looks forward to this time of year it’s Spring Cleaning. Finally, it’s nice outside and you’re telling me we need to dedicate at least one weekend indoors getting rid of everything we accumulated during our winter hibernation?
Well, yes. But there is some good news – It turns out that cleaning is as good for your health as it is for your house.
To start with, clutter is mentally exhausting. Not only does it make things difficult to find, but it can also accumulate dust and bacteria as well as invite other not-so-welcome critters like mice into your home. Scenarios like this can lead to worsening allergies, illness and increased incidents of friends no longer stopping by. Get rid of the clutter and you can safely get rid of this risk.
Mentally, you will be much more at ease and decrease stress the more you clear out. We think it’s safe to say that there’s at least once closet around the house stuffed to the brim with stuff. Take some time to clear it out. Organizing the materials will help clear your mind, make it easier to find what you’re looking for and free up space for those workout sneakers sitting by the door.
There are also some physical benefits of cleaning. Similar to gardening, even mild exercise like cleaning for 20 minutes can increase the number of calories your body burns throughout the day. Clean the house a few times a month and those burned calories really start to add up.
Lastly, cleaning has been proven to help release endorphins. Maybe it’s the sense of accomplishment, or the fact that you finally found where that smell was coming from inside the refrigerator, either way, you’ll literally be happier once you’re all done.
The great thing about these tips is that they don’t just apply to your home. You can use the same ideas around the office, in the car or even your gym locker. With that in mind, it’s time to get started with the Spring Cleaning – We’re looking at you, desk.
It goes without saying that spring is the perfect time of year to get your home garden growing. The weather is perfect and it’s easy to enjoy a variety of high quality, fresh produce grown right in your own yard! But harvesting your own herbs and produce isn’t just great for your wallet – it can also improve health in more ways than you think.
As home gardening grows in popularity, more people are discovering the benefits of the outdoors. Here are just a few of the ways home gardening can improve your health.
Stress Relief
Caring for and maintaining a garden can help focus your mind on a productive and gratifying process. All too often, either at work or around the house, we don’t get credit for the hard work we put in just to keep things moving. But with a garden, we can literally eat the fruits of our labor!
Make your garden your own by filling it with plants, produce or design features that you enjoy. This will make a small, Zen-like space all your own. You can grow what you want, how you want.
No more shopping for produce only to have it go bad. Now you can pick a tomato as you need it without running to the store!
A sense of accomplishment. Serving fresh veggies and herbs makes every meal great and will have the whole table asking what your secret ingredient is.
Physical Benefits
Gardening can actually be quiet the workout. Low impact and moderately paced, maintaining you garden can be a great way to stay active in the heat without overdoing it.
More strenuous activates (like a complete overhaul of the backyard) can burn up to 600 calories after a full day’s work pulling weeds, digging holes and further improving your garden.
Gardening has even been found to help improve flexibility by help strengthening underused muscle groups and joints.
Nutrition
This may be one of the best perks of having your own garden, not only do you get to choose what to grow – but you get to choose how to grow it. Don’t like pesticides or artificial fertilizers? Well, don’t use ‘em. You’ll have organic produce right at your fingertips.
Feed your family the freshest produce possible. No need for frozen or canned spinach when you have it in the back yard!
Herbs, spices and other easy-to-grow plants can add some hidden nutritional value to any meal as well as a little flavor. Did you know cilantro is being praised for its anti-inflammatory value? Or that parsley can boost antioxidant levels in your blood? It’s true and they’re easy to grow!
So now that (hopefully) all the April showers are out of the way, let’s get started with the flowers part of spring. You might just be surprised how much you’ll save, how healthy you’ll feel and how much a home garden can benefit your healthy lifestyle.
We all know the saying, April showers bring May flowers. But that phrase can get a little old when you’re sitting inside all day waiting your soggy boots to dry out. Not to mention, April is Earth Month. But how on earth are we supposed to enjoy a season dedicated to the environment when we can’t even get outside?
Well, don’t let the wet weather hold you back. There are still plenty of ideas to keep you busy on those rainy days inside while still enjoying, and protecting, our environment outside.
Eco Cleaning – Spring means spring cleaning. But many household products are terrible for the environment (which also means they may not be good for you). Luckily, there are tons of eco-friendly cleaning products on the market. There are also many home remedies for cleaning that involve no products at all. For example, cut a lemon in half and microwave it on high with a bowl of water. After about 5 minutes, remove the lemon and wipe off any stuck on grease. It’s that easy and no chemicals needed!
Sustainable Cooking – Cooking can be a fun group activity when you’re stuck inside. If the early spring weather is keeping you in – why not spend the time productively? Using locally grown produce and sustainably harvested ingredients is an awesome way to improve the environment and farmland. This will ensure that your favorite foods stick around and can even helping improve soil by retuning vital nutrients to the earth with crop rotation. This is also a great way to take pride in your local community and support the small business within.
Garbage Compacting – OK,this one sounds a little strange, but trust us – it’s fun. The next time you finish dinner, challenge everyone at the table to compact any trash into as dense and tightly wrapped a package they can. Use an empty juice box, any cardboard from dinner or a napkin as the container. This technique is great for camping when the weather gets nice. It saves space in your pack and in the landfill and it can be a lot of fun if enough people are involved.
Start a Compost – Some of your trash is going to be organic, especially during any cooking prep. Things like eggshells, carrot tips and used coffee grounds are great for starting a compost heap. Then, a few weeks later when it’s time to fertilize your garden, you’ve got the perfect, organic mix right in your own backyard.
Bird Watching – Just because you’re stuck inside doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the beauty outside. Try looking for the indigenous birds in your area. When you spot one, look it up online or in a bird watching book for details. Then, you can purchase the correct seed for the bird feeder. This will ensure lots of winged friends for the rest of spring.
We hope everyone has had a great April and a perfect spring to come! Remember, Earth Month doesn’t have to end because of the rain!
There’s been a lot of excitement around the APOGEE Challenge – and with just so many more days left in April, we’re pumped to find out who our first winner will be. Then, it’s on to May’s challenge.
Now, we know there are some people who were on the fence about signing up to try their hand at 28 days of exercise – it’s not exactly an easy task. But we also know a little motivation can go a long way for next month. With the right mindset, you can accomplish anything.
That’s why we want to hear from you. We want to know how you stay motivated to keep moving in this busy world. And, because it’s still our birthday month, one participant will receive a $50 credit to use at the Apogee White Plains Spa. We think you deserve it after all you do – now let us know how you do it!
It doesn’t have to be about exercise, although if you’re a challenge participant we’d love to know how you keep going! Maybe you finally finished that book that’s been sitting on the coffee table. Or maybe you just found the time to sign up for night classes – whatever it is, we want to know what drives you.
For some it can be as simple as a line of poetry or a favorite movie scene. For others, it’s family and friends that keep them motivated. So do us a favor, spread the motivation and post pictures, type out your favorite poem or link to a video on our Facebook and Twitter pages.
The key to life is happiness and the things that make us happy are what keep us moving. So why not share what drives you and win a $50 spa credit in the process? We can’t wait to see what you got. We’ll get things moving with this:
A place for the growing APOGEE Pilates & Wellness Centers community of teachers, members, experts and staff to share their passion for wellness and healthy living.
