I'm sure most of us enjoyed ourselves over the recent holiday weekend. I know I did! While spending time with our friends and family enjoying the holiday is a great thing, it can also come with excessive eating and drinking of things we wouldn't normally consume. Consumption of junk foods and alcohol can leave us feeling sluggish and demotivated to get back into the daily health and fitness grind. That's where we come in with motivational tips and replenishing superfoods!
We all love sweets, especially on the holidays. While we all know that too much sugar can lead to health issues like obesity and type 2 diabetes, sugar also has a lesser-known effect on mental health. Researchers have connected sugar consumption to an increased risk of depression, with worse outcomes in individuals with schizophrenia. Theories behind this effect involve sugar suppressing the activity of a hormone called BDNF that is low in individuals with depression and schizophrenia and sugar increasing chronic inflammation impacting the immune system, the brain, and other systems in the body. No wonder I don't feel like doing much or getting out of bed after a long weekend of junk food and drinking!
Refined carbohydrates are one of the biggest energy-depleting culprits during any holiday, consisting of bread, tortillas, bagels, waffles, pizza, cakes, sodas, and candy bars. The body uses refined carbohydrates quicker than unrefined carbs, resulting in short bursts of energy with a heavy crash. This energy crashing effect leads many to seek out even more refined carbs and continually repeat the process, resulting in high-calorie consumption. This cyclical effect could explain why so many of us overdo it on the holidays as soon as we have that first taste of refined carbohydrates.
So what should we do if we want to avoid the negative impacts of refined carbohydrates? The simplest option would be to avoid them altogether, but we all know that just because something is simple doesn't mean it's easy! Good thing that some top health food companies are creating products to make the simple task of avoiding refined carbohydrates much easier. The Smart Baking Company is a prime example of one of these indirect innovations. With gluten-free, zero-carb, low-calorie, and non-GMO buns, cupcakes, and muffins, you won't even miss mood-altering, energy-stealing, refined carbohydrates. But wait, there's more! The soda company Zevia has created a line of great-tasting sodas with zero-carbs, zero-sugar, zero-calories, zero-artificial ingredients, zero-GMO's, and one hundred percent flavor!
Refined carbohydrate and sugar alternative products from The Smart Baking Company and Zevia are great options for holidays if you want to avoid refined carbs. If you're more about living in the moment and recovering later, we have your back too! Practicing some form of fasting routine after your holiday binger can help your body clean out the excess junk weighing you down. Fasting can promote blood sugar control, reduce inflammation, improve blood pressure, boost brain function, and aid weight loss, which could all come in handy during your recovery process.
Depleted electrolytes are another common side-effect of a summertime holiday. Drinking alcohol and sweating in the summer heat pull electrolytes right out of our bodies, causing dehydration, nausea, headaches, muscle cramps, and more! Replacing these electrolytes is a pivotal factor in the road to recovery. Consuming water with higher mineral content as well as electrolytes replacing sports drinks and supplements can replenish your body's depleted electrolytes. Keep in mind that reading labels are crucial here because most sports drinks and supplements contain high levels of sugars and refined carbohydrates. High levels of sugar, artificial flavors, preservatives, and GMOs present in sports drinks are the very reason we created our Organic Electrolyte Replenisher!
Organic Muscle Electrolyte Replenisher eliminates dehydration, fatigue, and nausea, allowing you to recover and perform at your highest level with this groundbreaking plant-based formula of sixteen organic superfoods and electrolytes. Regular consumers of this supplement have described it as a hangover's worst nightmare! You will feel the hydrating effects of one scoop almost instantly after a long night with friends or a long day at work in the sun. Holiday hangovers can now be a thing of the past by utilizing fasting techniques, the products from The Smart Baking Company and Zevia, as well as our own Organic Electrolyte Replenisher!