Folic acid

Photo Courtesy: American Pregnancy Association

In 1988 folic acid was added to bread, pasta, cereal, cookies and crackers as required by federal law. Folic acid is a form of vitamin B, to be specific vitamin B9.

Folic acid can be easily found in natural foods such as – leafy vegetables, okra, beans, mushrooms, brussel sprouts, broccoli, tomato juice, orange juice, eggs, animal liver and kidney.

Folic acid deficiencies include – extreme tiredness, lack of energy, mouth ulcers, muscle weakness, heart problems, psychological problems such as depression, confusion and neural tube defects.

CDC implores women to consume 400 mcg of folic acid for those considering reproduction in order to prevent birth defects such as anencephaly and spina bifida.

A research study finds that folic acid reduces incidents of neural tube defects in infants.

Make wise choices and have a balanced diet! 💚

Rewire Your Brain from Complaining to Compassion

Photo Courtesy: Celine Sayuri Tagami

Remember a day when you just got frustrated with anything to anyone. It could be something at work that engages you for hours and you come home with thoughts that just makes you feel irritatable.

We all have days which aren’t just as sunny. But while I say that it’s important to not forget that all days aren’t rainy either. It’s just like a spectrum which has variations and of course variables.

You will be surprised to know that too much complaining has a negative impact. The more you practice it the more your brain gets rewired. A research from Standford University has shown that — complaining shrinks the hippocampus. Hippocampus is the area of brain that is responsible for critical thinking, learning and memory. 🧠

Here are 2 ways and you can choose either:

1. Shift your perspective towards things you are grateful for because complaining won’t get you anywhere either. Complaining sometimes leads to release of cortisol, too much release of cortisol is not good on a long term. So, try to cultivate an attitude that helps you.

2. Complain but with a solution-orientation. Think about why you are complaining and how can it be resolved. Try to identify the purpose, what are the different ways of looking at it and what are the ways to get over it. Obviously, it’s not a day thing but try a constructive manner.

And lastly, excess of anything always results in danger☠️. When you see yourself engaging in complaining, remind yourself to stop and break the wiring.

Have a wonderful week! 🌻

Easy Ways to Organize

Let’s utilize the weekend organizing your surroundings. 💖

1. Recycle baskets and make your corners prettier: for storing paper rolls or fruits.

Photos Courtesy: Michelle Garres

2. Wash off all your jars and store almost anything: spices, herbs, face mask, or flower pots.

Photo Courtesy: Annie Spratt

3. Take out blank sheets from old journals and bind them to declutter and make a new one for yourself.

Photo Courtesy: Priscilla Du Preez

I believe in taking little steps because it brings out more creative ideas. To read more on becoming organized read here.

Keeping Cool in Angry Times

Photo Courtesy: Google Images

It seems nearly impossible. I am absolutely with you when you say this… because it is really tough or even impossible. At the same time, you do not want to say something and regret later.

Anger is an emotion that is characterized by antagonism or a strong feeling of being upset or being annoyed because of something wrong or bad.

Anger can be used as a way to express negative feelings or help in focusing and finding solutions. However, excessive anger can be problematic not only physically but psychologically too.

While some of you can manage anger, others who are “hotheaded” experience anger at a higher intensity than average. It could be due to numerous factors such as — low tolerance toward frustration, genetic or sociocultural.

So here are 3 ways to help you cool your head when angry:

Relaxation : simple breathing from your diaphragm. Take a deep breath in – hold – release lungs 🫁, you can pair it with visualization of a calming picture. 🖼️ Here is one for you.

Restructure your Thoughts : when we are feeling something too intense, logic goes out of the window. But if we think logically it sometimes defeats anger. Try reminding yourself that it could be a rough spot here and shift your perspective. 💭

Use Humour : as a child you would sometimes burst in laughter when angry. Rage diffuses in a number of ways and one among is silly humor. You can of course find a way to diffuse your own anger. 😸🤭🐶

Now that you know how to do it here is a Pro Tip: Give yourself a break! ☕ A study suggest that taking a break for 5-60 minutes refreshes your brain.

Inside out is an amazing movie to understand about your emotions.

Cultivating Punctuality

Before beginning to work on punctuality, it is essential that you understand what is making you late. Watch yourself and your routine carefully to identify what really is making you late. DeLonzor author of Never Be Late Again says – many late people — including herself — are likely to have an aversion to leaving the house. To combat this she uses a mantra of sorts: “When I catch myself doing this, I’ll snap or clap and say ‘This can wait.”

This article is not here to make you feel bad about your lateness or to say lateness makes you the worst of all. It is just to help you to work it out, if this is one.

Firstly, If you want to begin with identifying, have a look at DeLonzor who identifies four types of persistently late people

  1. The Crisis Maker
  2. The Defier
  3. The Dreamer
  4. The Perfectionist

I am refraining to crowd this article with too much information so you can go ahead find your type.

Secondly, your motivation is with you. Find. Find Find. because it helps when you have a reason to be on time, it can be anything. I can give you an example here – Reach to work early and head home early to spend time with yourself, your family, or your pet.

Thirdly, begin with declutter. The thing is we unnecessarily clutter our lives with all things, thoughts and what not. Take an example of your cupboard, how easy it gets when you keep things in place, you find them early.

And, lastly, take responsibility. Know what makes you late, it can even be spending too much time in front of the cupboard every morning just to finalise what you’d want to wear today. Take notice of where you are investing too much time where it is not even required. Decide it the night before or wake up early.

End note – You are too amazing to put a blame on yourself for being late. Cultivate an attitude of punctuality, even if it is 10 minutes in prior.