My Happy Me.com

By: Liliya Vafina

“Thank God for tea! What would the world be without tea? How did it exist? I am glad I was not born before tea” said Sydney Smith almost 200 years ago. I sure am glad I wasn’t born before tea as well!  Boy, isn’t it great to have it around? This guilt free treat available in so many types and varieties there is a fit for the most discerning tastes and the most unexpected moods!  Black, green, white, oolong… each with hundreds of different varieties from hundreds of different origins… and then there is herbal tea and almost as many different kinds of it as there are herbs and plants on Earth… each with numerous health benefits. Not only tea is full of health enhancing and protective properties (doesn’t matter which one you pick), taking a few minutes out of your day to prepare and enjoy a cup of tea is a wonderful way to fight stress and gain perspective.

Relaxation is an important part of overall wellbeing. If we are stressed and overwhelmed, we can’t focus on what’s really important, we tend to lose sight of the bigger picture; we overreact and our thoughts become negative. Relaxing and taking a little bit of time every day can help. If that’s not enough to convince you, a famous psychologist Richard Carlson, who has been working in the stress management field for decades, claims that he didn’t meet a single person whom he “would consider to be inwardly peaceful who doesn’t carve out at least a little quiet time, virtually every day”.  People may have different rituals that help them to relax, including meditation, yoga, a 10 minute walk in the park, or a bubble bath. Drinking tea is my daily ritual of choice. Ahh, five quiet minutes in the middle of a busy afternoon to brew a cup of tea…  Taking a few moments to sense its warmth, breathe in its aroma and really pay attention to the flavor notes do wonders to sooth, calm and recharge… enabling to go back and finish what needs to be finished with a refreshed perspective. Try it! And here are a few bonus ideas that will help to include some variety into your tea adventure.  

Black tea is rich in antioxidants. It can help reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, and some cancers.

Green tea is rich in antioxidants that protect from cancer and heart disease. Also has been shown to help increase rates of body fat burning.

Licorice tea has powerful anti-inflammatory and antiallergenic properties. Good for coughs and chest infections.  

Peppermint tea is great as digestive help and a great relaxant. Leave this one for after work though as it can make you sleepy.

Ginger tea helps upset stomachs; has detoxifying properties as well as helps open pores and sweat out toxins. Perfect before hot yoga!

Ginseng tea boosts resistance to stress, improves circulation, and enhances energy and mental functioning.

Ginkgo tea improves memory.

Chamomile tea calms anxiety and irritability. Also is anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving.  

Rooibos tea is rich in vitamin C and minerals. It is great for re-hydration and can help you sleep better.

By: Liliya Vafina

Oh, wow, thank you all very much for your interest in such a serious topic as online nutrition counseling! I was very pleased to receive a great number of responses from YOU and today I am going to share what the majority of you thought and my own view on this subject.  And I promise to keep my posts light for a while after this one

All right, just a reminder that the survey consisted of 7 multiple choice questions and one question requiring a comment.  In response to the first question, 100% of you thought that online nutrition counseling will in fact become common in the future.  83% of you thought that benefits of nutrition consulting can be achieved online with majority of votes allocated to video call, email and chat as the most effective technology. With regards to security of online technology (keeping in mind that nutrition counseling can be a very sensitive and private matter), majority of you said that video call and email were the most secure means of online communication.  Then I went on to learn a bit about you as to how busy you were, what your family was like, and so on.  The majority of you are married without kids who work 40-50 hour work weeks. Then I asked you to imagine that you needed a bit of nutrition advice or, perhaps, encouragement about healthy eating, and you were to tell me you preference, online or face-to-face counseling.  The answers split exactly 50/50. Some of you felt concerned about the possibility of building a working relationship with the counselor online and some of you were really excited about the opportunity to save time by doing counseling sessions online from the comfort and convenience of your own home. Well, thank you very much again for participating in this survey!

Personally, I am a big fan of online technology. I think tremendous progress has been achieved in technology already and it is only going to advance so that it is very easy to create environment that imitates a one-to-one session between a counselor and a patient.  Online counseling offers the benefit of having a wider choice of nutritionists to choose from, not necessarily limited to the area where you live or without a hassle of travelling further away in case a suitable counselor is not available close-by, or to have to skip a session due to a business trip, jeopardizing your progress due to a lack of support. Time is just so valuable nowadays, not everybody can afford regular face-to-face check-ins with their nutrition coach. On the other hand, unhealthy eating habits quickly emerge as the top cause of major medical problems running in our society, putting healthy eating on top of our priority lists. It only makes sense for professionals in the field to adapt and facilitate the process by learning required skills and utilizing new technology to meet these ever evolving demands.  That’s why I was very pleased to see that most of people who answered the survey were very optimistic and open-minded about online technology and nutrition therapy Please leave a comment if you have any other thoughts on this topic. Talk soon!

Taking care of your skin might be one of the most rewarding personal care routines. Most of the procedures can be done at home using natural ingredients that can be found in your kitchen cupboard or your fridge. Along with amazing visible results, you will give yourself some extra minutes of relaxation and rejuvenation.

Three-minute Eye Rejuvenation Rick-Me-Up

For a quick eye refresher after a sleepless night or a long work-day try using a cucumber eye mask to brighten your eyes and give the skin around your eyes some extra moisture. Put cool, thinly-sliced cucumber rings on your eyes for a minimum of 3 minutes. Finish this procedure with a warm cloth against your eyes and a rich moisturizer for sensitive skin around your eyes.

Pore Cleansing

To give your skin a good boost of energy and to get rid of the old skin sells, it is recommended to exfoliate your skin at least once a week with a gentle exfoliate. If you want your exfoliation session to be even more effective and more relaxing, try steaming your face just before, for one to three minutes. Make sure that your steam bath is not too hot, and that you use an extra gentle scrub after the steaming. You can add a drop of lavender essential oil in to the steam water for a more relaxing effect.
The best part is that you don’t have to buy an expensive face steamer. You can just pour hot water in a plate, put a towel over your head and your steamer is ready!

Lemon Facial Wash

Another great way to cleanse and rejuvenate your facial skin is to wipe your face with a few drops of lemon juice diluted in warm water. Lemon works wonders for getting rid of dirt and to refresh your skin by penetrating deep into your pores.

Enjoy your facial skin care routine and you will see the difference in a couple of weeks.

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Discover the world of Vancouver skincare products for you and your loved ones. Give back to nature and learn more about natural natural skin care products and their benefits.

By: Liliya Vafina, Nutritionist

Those of you who follow me on Facebook probably know that Kathy King has been the source of my current fascination. Kathy King is a dietitian, entrepreneur, author and a great business coach with tremendous experience behind her back.  Today, I’d like to talk about online nutrition counseling, a very controversial topic I recently came across in one of her books .  Apparently, counseling by email is becoming more and more prominent in today’s global world where people travel frequently, work around the clock, juggling careers, families and busy social lives.  With all of that, fitting regular one-to-one nutrition counseling sessions is proving to be difficult. The associated lack of commitment to nutrition therapy results in frustration and loss of motivation as health goals are not being achieved while money is being spent.  It seems inevitable that online technologies will grow in the future to facilitate our increasingly global lifestyles, but is it possible to build trusting working counselor-patient relationships via email or other online technology? Are there techniques that allow a nutrition counselor to influence and motivate beneficial behavioral change in their patients/clients to drive desirable results online?

I’d like to ask your opinion about this approach to nutrition therapy. It doesn’t matter if you have ever used/considered or never used/considered nutrition counseling services in your life, I want to hear your thoughts.  Please take a few minutes to answer (anonymously!) the survey questions (see link below). I will be collecting submissions for the next two weeks after which I will promptly share my thoughts on the survey results. Thanks for your time!

Click here to take survey

And when is a better time to write about chocolate if not before the V-day? Everybody is buzzing about it, except maybe Vancouverites who are busy buzzing about the 2010 Winter Olympic Games opening weekend coinciding with the worldwide weekend of love. There is also Chinese New Year (Gung Hay Fat Choy everyone!) and I am sure many people all over the world are busy celebrating that.  I can totally understand the excitement, but for the rest of us there is chocolate!Chocolate is the most craved food in the world! Luckily, it is also one of those super foods that are packed with goodness; however, moderation, common sense and good judgment are required when choosing the type and the amount of chocolate to consume as most chocolate contains too much sugar, fat and additives. What we need to look for when buying chocolate is high percentage of cocoa solids. This is where the largest density of nutrients is contained.  For instance, milk chocolate has lower percentage of cocoa solids than dark chocolate due to dairy and higher sugar content.

Now, what is so good about chocolate, apart from its taste of course? Loads of things!

• Chocolate, or more specifically, cocoa solids, contain antioxidants procyanidins. These have been shown to protect blood vessels, heart and platelets of the cardiovascular system. They prevent oxidation of circulating fats in the bloodstream. Oxidized (rancid) fats contribute to hardening of the arteries. Furthermore, studies confirmed that antioxidants in chocolate can raise levels of good protective cholesterol which helps to lower the levels of bad cholesterol in blood.
• Chocolate is high in minerals such as copper, iron and magnesium, which all participate in hundreds of vital biochemical reactions in our bodies and all affect our wellbeing, so it’s important to get enough from our diet.  
• Chocolate contains amino acids phenylalanine and tyrosine, important neurotransmitter precursors vital for proper nervous system functioning.
• Chocolate contains phenylathylamine, theobromine, theophylline and other fancy-named compounds that are responsible for magic energy boosts and elevated mood some people experience after eating chocolate.  Ever heard that chocolate can makes us happy? Like you needed another reason to eat it

So, enjoy your chocolate! I always recommend buying a dark chocolate bar, breaking it into squares, and freezing 2-3 square-portions wrapped individually in foil. Do not go over your one portion; remember the secret is in moderation! What a perfect way to treat yourself daily! Okay, I would probably go over my one portion on Valentine’s Day, but only on Valentine’s J  And try this homemade hot chocolate recipe I have found: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/2664.

Let me know how it tastes and talk to you soon. Happy Valentine’s!