Moringa Powder – The Most Powerful Superfood You Need to Know About

The health benefits of moringa powder also known as drumstick or malunggay. Moringa powder is made from the dried leaves of the moringa oleifera, a drought resistant tree native to warm climates like India. This has been used as a natural medicine for thousands of years and is known as the miracle tree. You can purchase organic moringa powder from health food stores and take between one to two teaspoons per day to help heal diseases and infections in the body.

Let’s us explore the many benefits of this powerful powder while first keeping in mind to consult your healthcare professional before taking any supplements.

Reduces inflammation

Moringa powder contains 46 different types of antioxidants and a wide range of anti-inflammatory compounds making it one of the most powerful super foods in the world. This helps to lower inflammation and swelling throughout the body especially for those with joint pain, osteoarthritis or even rheumatoid arthritis.

Liver cleansing

The powerful antioxidants in moringa help to cleanse the liver and help to remove fatty deposits and scar tissue. This can improve your liver function keeping your blood free of toxins and boosting your overall health.

Rich in minerals

Moringa powder contains zinc, plant-based iron, copper, beta carotene and B vitamins. These act as cofactors in the body to help grow, long, strong and healthy strands of hair. They also help to protect against hair loss with age.

Thyroid health

Moringa powder also helps your liver to make certain thyroid hormones to prevent hypo or hyperthyroidism, hot flashes, excessive sweating, and an irregular heartbeat. This helps to keep your body temperature under control and your hormones in balance.

Muscle health

Moringa contains all nine essential amino acids needed to build strong, healthy muscles. You can consume moringa powder before exercising as it boosts stamina and energy levels. It contains seven times more potassium than bananas, four times more calcium than milk and 36 times more magnesium than eggs. These electrolyte minerals help your cells to produce stable energy, maintain healthy muscle mass and prevent cramping.

Regulates your blood sugar levels

Moringa powder regulates blood sugar levels thereby reduces the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Anti aging

Some refer to moringa as the elixir of life as it contains high concentrations of zeatin. This is a plant hormone which has been linked to slowing down the aging process of the body. As this plant is rich in antioxidants these two play a role in keeping your skin youthful and healthy by improving your antioxidant network and destroying free radicals in the blood.

Breast feeding

It’s very important to make sure that you’re getting lots of nutrients in your diet to make rich breast milk. Being nutrient rich, moringa makes a good supplement for nursing mothers.

Heals gastric ulcers

This is likely due to the chlorophyll or the green plant pigment which is very healing to the digestive system. Not only will it heal ulcers but also prevent them from occurring.

Hormone Balancing

Women who suffer with facial hair, deeper voice and irregular periods may have a hormonal imbalance and a condition called polycystic ovarian syndrome. Moringa is actually one of the best supplements to reduce androgen hormones, to overcome this condition and balance the hormones.

Blood builder

Chlorophyll, plant-based iron and antioxidants found in moringa could also help your body to build robust, healthy red blood cells. These carry oxygen and nutrients to all of the organs and tissues throughout your body keeping you strong, healthy and prevent anemia.

Regulates blood pressure

By taking stress off the liver, the antioxidants help to relax the blood vessels and the arteries for better blood flow to and from the heart. It also lowers the risk of heart attacks and plaque in the arteries because it contains over 46 types of antioxidants.

Weight loss

By lowering insulin resistance, the nutrients in moringa help your body to tap into its fat stores for energy and reduce hunger levels. This naturally helps you to lose weight especially when you’re following a low carb diet like keto for example.

Healthy brain

If you want to stay sharp as you get older, the amino acids in moringa help to build hormones and neurotransmitters in your brain. These support better memory, concentration, and learning.

Protects against exposure to UV

UVB rays from the sunshine can be very damaging to the skin especially if you stay out in the sun too long. However, the antioxidants within moringa help to protect against skin cancer and premature aging.

Fights Infection

Due to its antibacterial, antifungal and antimicrobial properties, moringa can also help to fight off infections in the body and boost your immune system.

Lung health

Moringa is also very useful for those with asthma as it can help to improve breathing and airflow. It does this by improving oxygenation of the blood allowing nutrients to travel freely through your body.

Eye health

Antioxidants in moringa also help to protect the blood vessels that are connected to your eyes. This lowers the risk of vision loss and macular degeneration that comes with age, and it also helps to protect the nerves within the eye.

How to consume

Simply mix 2 teaspoons of moringa powder in a glass of water and then drink. Some of the nutrients are fat soluble so it is best to drink this after eating a meal that contains a fat like olive oil, cheese, or butter. This will help your body absorb more nutrients from the moringa. Do not add hot water to moringa because this may kill off the enzymes within which are needed to help your body absorb some of the antioxidants.

Other moringa uses

Other parts of the moringa tree are also used in traditional medicine including the bark, the seeds, pods, roots, sap, flowers, and oil. The oil, in particular, can be used topically on the skin and the scalp to prevent dandruff, irritation and to heal various skin problems.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5745501/

5 Ways to Keep Your Brain Healthy

Brain function

Brain function and brain health has become a popular subject in the last decade.  This is likely due to the noticeable rise in neurodegenerative disorders like dementia and Alzheimer’s.   As such, people’s interest in taking control of their cognitive health has also increased.

Brain health has also become a widely popular topic in the world of sports and recreation. Since concussions are now recognized to have significant short and long term impact on injured players.

The fact is, unless you have neurodegenerative disorders in your family or have experienced a head injury, you probably won’t start thinking about your brain’s health until you start noticing symptoms such as;

Here’s the thing, the longer you wait to take action, the worse the problem can become.

You really should start thinking about your brain’s health today!  Look at taking preventative measures rather than waiting for signs of cognitive decline to appear.

So, how exactly do you keep your brain healthy? There are many simple ways to improve brain function and keep your mind sharp. Some of which you may already be doing!

Ways To Keep Your Brain Healthy

5 Tips To Help Keep Your Brain Function In Tip-Top Shape

1. Exercise Daily

Exercise has a whole host of benefits for your mental and physical health. Endorphins released during exercise work wonders warding off depression and bolstering the immune system.

Physical fitness also has been shown to increase mental sharpness as people age. Especially past the age of 40. Daily exercise helps maintain acuity in the prefrontal cortex of the brain, which is responsible for judgement and decision making.

2. Try To Go Keto!

Yes, the foods we eat do have an impact on our mental and cognitive health. Research shows that consuming a diet high in healthy fats and low in carbohydrates (known as a ketogenic diet) helps promote brain health by pushing your body into a fat-burning state, creating what we call ketones as a by-product.

Ketones are a very efficient and sustainable source of fuel for the body and the brain. Burning mainly sugar (carbs) as fuel creates inflammation in the body and the brain while ketones are said to be a much “cleaner” fuel. A keto-adapted individual will experience less brain fog, less memory trouble and better focus.

Click here to read, “Keto For Dummies – Beginners Guide For Keto”.

3. Get Enough Sleep

The fog of exhaustion will cloud your mental ability. Our brains store daily memories while we sleep. You need rest in order to remember even mundane details of daily life. You might even consider taking a short nap after learning something new or important, to help store it in your long-term memory.

Sleeping less than six hours a night has been shown to decrease mental sharpness even after one night. I am sure if you have young kids, you know exactly what I am talking about. What’s more, good quality sleep has also been shown to help the brain detoxify, which is crucial for keeping the brain healthy and sharp.

4. Flex Your Mental Muscles

You can improve your logic, problem solving, mental orientation and corrective thought process by working on puzzles and doing difficult mental tasks. For instance, start doing crossword puzzles. Studies show that older people who do crossword puzzles have better scores on a variety of cognitive tests than those who don’t.

To be fair, researchers aren’t sure if the puzzles cause better mental ability or if people with better mental ability tend to do more crossword puzzles. Nonetheless it can’t hurt to try! Don’t like puzzles? Try memorizing your friends’ and family’s phone numbers and birthdays.

5. Express Yourself Creatively

Creativity has more than one advantage when it comes to keeping your mind sharp and keeping a positive attitude. Creativity forces you to think and flex your mental muscles!  The results of creative work have been shown to reinforce self-confidence and help individuals enjoy their daily life. Try your hand at;

  • Writing poetry
  • Sewing
  • Taking up a musical instrument
  • Gardening
  • Painting

If you don’t feel artistic or creative, baking or writing in a journal are other great ways to express yourself. Try applying creative approaches to daily tasks like shopping on a budget or creating a new recipe with limited ingredients. Keep a good attitude about your ability to find solutions in everyday situations.

Your brain is an extraordinary machine, and although there is still a great deal we do not know about it, it doesn’t stop us from wanting to expand its capabilities. Don’t blame age for declining cognitive abilities. Instead, test out some of the methods listed above and keep your brain sharp!