Your brain uses tons of calories, just in its daily work of keeping you alive. So does thinking extra hard use even MORE calories?
In a recent episode of the SciShow series Quick Questions, host Hank Green explains how the brain burns calories and answers the question, “Does thinking hard burn more calories?” The episode gets into the processes in the brain that use the most calories, and explains why thinking hard will probably never actual exercise.
Adding lemon to water not only quenches thirst better than any other beverage, but it also nourishes our body with vitamins, minerals and trace elements which we absolutely need. Lemon with water can be considered the best natural energy booster. When we wake up in the morning, our bodily tissues are dehydrated and are in need of water to push out toxins and rejuvenate the cells. In other words, this homemade “lemonade” helps eliminate internal toxins, regulating proper kidney and digestive tract functions by forcing them to work as smoothly as possible.
20 Unbelievable Reasons To Start Your Day With Water and Lemon
- Water with lemon provides the body with electrolytes which hydrate your body. As lemons contain good amount of electrolytes such as potassium, calcium and magnesium.
- Water with lemon is good for the joints, reducing pain in the joints and muscles.
- Warm water with lemon helps digestion as lemon contains citric acid. It interacts with other enzymes and acids which easily stimulate the secretion of gastric juice and digestion.
- The liver produces more enzymes from water with lemon than from any other food.
- Water with lemon cleanses the liver. Lemon juice stimulates the liver to release toxins.
- Water with Lemon helps fight infections of the respiratory tract, sore throats and inflammation of the tonsils. This is due to the anti-inflammatory properties of lemon.
- Warm water with lemon helps regulate natural bowel movement.
- Water with lemon is indispensable for the normal work of metabolism. Since lemon is a powerful antioxidant, it protects the body from free radicals and strengthens the immune system.
- Water with lemon aids in proper functioning of the nervous system (as lemon has a high content of potassium). Depression and anxiety are often the result of low levels of potassium in the blood. The nervous system needs a sufficient amount of potassium to ensure sustainable signals to the heart.
- Water with lemon cleanses blood, blood vessels and arteries.
- Water with lemon can help lower blood pressure. A daily intake of one lemon can reduce high blood pressure by 10%.
- Water with lemon creates an alkalizing effect in the body. Even if you drink it immediately before a meal, it can help your body maintain a higher level of pH. The higher the pH, the more your body is able to fight diseases.
- Water with lemon is good for the skin. Vitamin C in lemon, improves our skin by rejuvenating the body. Drinking water with lemon regularly (every morning) will improve the condition of your skin.
- Water with lemon helps to dilute uric acid, the built up of which leads to pain in the joints and gout.
- Water with lemon is beneficial for pregnant women. Since lemons are loaded with Vitamin C, it acts as an adaptogen helping the body cope with viruses such as colds. Furthermore, vitamin C helps the formation of bone tissue of the unborn baby. At the same time, due to the high content of potassium, a mixture of water with lemon helps forming cells of the brain and nervous system of the baby.
- Water with lemon relieves heartburn. For this, mix a teaspoon of lemon juice in half a glass of water.
- Water with lemon helps dissolve gallstones, kidney stones, pancreatic stones, and calcium deposits.
- Water with lemon helps with weight loss. Lemons contain pectin fiber, which helps suppress hunger cravings. Studies have proven people with a better alkaline diet have lost weight faster.
- Water with lemon helps with tooth pain and gingivitis.
- Water with lemon prevents cancer. This is due to the fact that lemons are a highly alkaline food. Multiple studies have found that cancer cannot thrive in an alkaline environment.
This video reveals women’s fitness developments over the past century. Early forms of exercise were used for alternative health benefits as well as fitness, including squats to ease the symptoms of constipation. Later forms of fitness involve women opting for dance related methods as a fun form of exercise including Street Dance and Zumba.
Enjoy!
100 Years of Fitness showcases ‘keep fit’ fads and movements from the 1910s to the current day, presents 100 years of women’s fitness in 100 seconds – See more: Benenden Health
It’s a colourful history: from the gentle stretches of the 1910s and 1920s, designed to reduce ‘unfeminine’ perspiration, to the hula hoop and twister fads of the mid-20th century and today’s high-energy Zumba workouts.
It begins with the 1910s, an era when women took to early exercise bikes and weights with gusto: ankle-length attire or not! Their main form of exercise was comprised of gentle stretches that were said to improve the hips and, believe it or not, ease constipation!
1920s fitness included more of the same stretches, with a more energetic twist undoubtedly inspired by the popular dance routine, the Charleston. Glamour prevailed even during these workouts, with fitness clothes incorporating silk nightgowns and full makeup instead of sports bras!
In the 1930s, fitness made a concerted leap forward. Enter the Women’s League of Health and Beauty, an organisation created by Mary Bagot Stack, aiming to bring fitness to the masses. ‘Movement is life’ was her motto, and her fitness exercises were revolutionary, incorporating, for the first time, things like star jumps in large group classes.
Next, the 1940s marked another departure for women’s fitness. The Women’s League of Health and Beauty maintained a large membership, but with the onset of war, many women began exercising in their own homes. Genteel, sweat-minimising exercises were the order of the day, including an early form of sit-up.
1950s fitness is the epitome of retro fitness, with the hula hoop taking centre stage. Both children and adults were swept up in the craze, and with a little clever marketing, people saw the hula hoop as a fully-fledged exercise tool! Who knew you could have so much fun while burning calories?
Hula hoop fitness was later cast aside when the 1960s introduced the world to the Trim Twist. Made from a square of pressed board mounted on top of a metal turning mechanism, this portable piece of kit became a hit with housewives and office workers alike. Simply stand on top and get twisting to firm the stomach, bottom, arms and legs.
1970s fitness took a jauntier turn when former Broadway star, Judi Sheppard Missett, introduced her new phenomenon… Jazzercise! This combination of aerobic exercise and jazz dancing was designed to slim and tone, and proved so much fun that it’s still practised in 32 countries!
When we reach the 1980s, it’s all about aerobics. Day-glo leotards and big hair dominated the fitness industry, with physical fitness becoming something of a status symbol. High-energy routines and high kicks provided an intense cardiovascular workout, and Jane Fonda dominated television screens.
1990s fitness was less Jane Fonda and more Billy Blanks, an American taekwondo instructor who brought Tae Bo to the nation. His exercise trend combined taekwondo and boxing to create movements designed to promote fitness and work every area of the body.
The 2000s, however, were the decade in which fitness through dance returned. ‘Street dance’ passed through school yards and local neighbourhoods into dance studios and gyms, becoming the fitness trend of choice. ‘Locking’ and ‘popping’ the body, bobbing and weaving, and grabbing or punching through the air are the hallmarks of almost every routine.
Today, in the 2010s, fitness is even more fast-paced: say hello to Zumba! Incorporating elements of hip-hop, soca, salsa, samba, merengue and mambo, it feels more like a trip to a nightclub with friends than an effort to get fit! From the old to the young, everybody is welcome at classes. Health and fitness has never been more accessible!
This amazing VICE documentary takes a look at why Iceland breeds so many strongmen.
Despite its tiny population, Iceland has a reputation in the World’s Strongest Man competition that stands higher than perhaps any other country’s. This small, black rock in the middle of the ocean has produced a lineage of strongmen dating back to the Vikings.
VICE went out there to investigate why this tiny island produces such strong people. Hanging out at Jakabol, a gym run by ex-champion Magnus Ver Magnusson, we met a whole host of Icelandic strongmen, which includes Hafthor “Thor” Bjornsson, the 6’9″ star of Game of Thrones.