7 Supplements to Boost Your Mood

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Often when people struggle with regulating their mood, the cause might be your dopamine levels. The lower dopamine levels are, the harder it is for people to stay positive throughout the tough times. This can also affect the quality of your sleep and energy levels, further affecting your emotions. Using supplements is one of the best ways to improve your mood in a natural way.

But which supplements should you take? In this article, you’ll find the seven natural supplements that may help boost your mood.

1. Kratom

Kratom is a tree found only in the southeastern parts of Asia including Thailand and Malaysia. The leaves of this tree contain the alkaloid mitragynine, which binds to certain receptors within the brain. Users have reported that this natural supplement may help boost a person’s mood and improve overall feelings of wellness.

If you’re interested in trying kratom for yourself, it’s best to buy kratom online from a reputable vendor. Look for sellers that proudly share their customer reviews and highlight the purity of their products.

2.  Probiotics

Your gut contains microorganisms known as probiotics that help your body function properly. These are considered the “good bacteria” within your gut flora.

However, these microorganisms do so much more than maintaining your digestive health, they also help with other functions of your body. For example, researchers found that the overflow of bad bacteria within the gut can affect a person’s mood.

Therefore, improving your gut health with probiotic supplements can also work to improve your overall mood. Of course, more studies are needed to explore the connection between mood disorders and probiotics more deeply.

3. CBD Oil

CBD oil has become one of the most popular supplements within the last five years. This is due to the many potential benefits it offers to users including relaxation, focus, and other aspects of overall wellness.

CBD oil may also improve one’s overall mood. Some studies have shown CBD oil’s positive effects on a person’s serotonin levels, but more research is needed to support this theory.

If you think CBD might be an effective supplement for you, you can easily shop for it online. When looking for a CBD store online, choose a brand that highlights their lab testing so you can be confident your supplement is pure and unadulterated.

4. Vitamin D

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Vitamin D plays a vital role in many functions of the body. For example, it helps regulate weight, fight diseases, and support growth within children. It may also help you stay fit and strong while you’re entering your thirties.

One crucial role it provides is regulating our mood and lowering depression symptoms. Some studies show that those who suffer from vitamin D deficiency also have a higher rate of depression. If you believe you’re suffering from vitamin D deficiency, discuss with your doctor if it could be the reason for your low mood swings.

5. Ginkgo Biloba

Chinese doctors used Ginkgo Biloba for hundreds of years to help relieve different issues. Some of these include nausea, poor heart health, and inflammation, but another use of Ginkgo Biloba is regulating mood swings.

It’s been suggested that ginkgo biloba supplements may improve a person’s overall brain function and boost their memory. As a result, this provides benefits to one’s mood. Of course, more studies are needed to prove these theories and explore the other possible effects of this supplement.

6.  Green Tea

Green tea is one of the healthiest drinks to replace your morning coffee habit. This is due to the nutrient content and antioxidant properties of green tea.

One essential nutrient is the amino acid L-theanine, which helps increase the activity levels of neurotransmitters in the brain. This includes dopamine levels. Research suggests that those who take green tea supplements have higher dopamine levels and improved mood levels.

Even if you decide not to take the supplements, switching from drinking coffee every morning to green tea is still better. You’ll notice an improvement in your overall health by doing so.

7. Fish Oil

Eating fish provides many benefits to the body and so will taking a fish oil supplement. One of the main benefits is boosting the overall health of the brain.

This is due to fish containing two crucial omega-3 fatty acids: docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). These two fatty acids may help improve one’s mood and aid in mood regulation.

Improve Your Overall Wellness

If you’re looking for a natural way to improve your mood, these seven supplements may help you achieve this. These supplements may help provide a positive attitude and potentially improve your overall health. When shopping for these natural supplements, remember to look for high-quality products and discuss adding these to your wellness regimen with your care provider.

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Your New Go-To Guide for Trendy, Affordable Winter Clothes

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Even if you’re out of ideas on how to create a new look once the weather outside gets frightful, or if you’re wondering what to wear in winter to break out of your slump, read on for our top suggestions on what to do with your winter clothing!

Back to Basics: What to Wear in Winter

Cold-weather wardrobes aren’t always easy to build. With so many options, you could get lost under a mountain of ideas! Don’t get intimidated—just keep in mind a few basic, affordable winter clothing items that will help you through and make sure to layer up with the right materials.

Layering Up

Layers are the go-to style choice for fall and winter to help every girl stay chic and cozy at all levels of cold. It’s almost like you have three different looks in one day! Your indoor look is your base layer, your mid-way look adds a cardigan or blazer, and your outdoor look is fully covered with a coat, scarf, and hat!

Some of the best affordable winter clothing layering pieces include leggings, skirts, vests, ponchos, and tunics! Add all of these to your closet to ensure you have tons of ensemble options without busting out the dated basics!

The Right Materials

The right materials are crucial to ensuring you stay warm all winter long. When dealing with the chilly winter air, it’s best to avoid outer layers made of moisture-wicking, breathable, and aerated fabrics. Instead of keeping you cozy, these fabrics let in even the smallest of breezes. To stay toasty, go for options like:

  • Polypropylene
  • Wool
  • Silk
  • Suede (vegan)
  • Velvet
  • Fur (vegan)
  • Down (synthetic)
  • Cashmere

You may think some of these sound uncomfortable and scratchy (we’re looking at you, wool), but when you get merino wool or a wool blend, you’ll enjoy a softer touch than you’re used to. Knit wool is also an amazing option for cardigans and sweaters, while velvet, faux suede, and synthetic down allow you to play with texture while keeping your winter clothing affordable!

The Perfect Jacket

Jackets are the final piece that complete every ensemble. Stay inspired by including basic styles in your wardrobe, but adding a little twist to each one with unique colors, cuts, and patterns!

Moto Jacket

The moto jacket used to be for biker chicks only, but now its market has expanded to include anyone who wants to don something a little edgy and sharp. You can find plenty of vegan leather options in black, burgundy, and navy to add a sleeker silhouette and some rocker embellishments to your outfit. Moto jackets have definitely found their niche in the winter clothing market.

Military-Inspired

Military inspired jackets provide both casual and formal options. Choose an army-style jacket for utilitarian activities, like hiking, and go for a trench coat when you want a little more stylish protection from the elements. Both are the perfect affordable winter clothing for any outdoor occasion!

Pea Coat

While the pea coat is also a military-inspired outerwear piece, it deserves its own category simply because of all the varieties that are available today. From hundreds of prints, patterns, and colors to tons of cuts, embellishments, and lengths—the pea coat is the most versatile outerwear around!

Accessories Galore

No, we’re not talking about jewelry here—we mean scarves, gloves, hats, and socks! If you’re wondering what to wear in winter to really keep you cozy, boutique accessories are EVERYTHING. They also add the perfect finishing touch to your ensemble.

Scarves

There are so many styles, materials, and colors of scarves that you’d have to work extra hard not to find one that matches your look. For something a little lighter, choose an acrylic blanket scarf, and if the wind is REALLY blowing, always wear that large knit wool scarf!

Gloves

While not every winter needs gloves, if you’re living in a place where it dumps snow all the time, these are a closet essential. We recommend going with basic black, but if black is a staple in your wardrobe, it may be time to add a pop of color with green, blue, or burgundy in faux leather.

Hats

For affordable winter clothing that is really the MVP of cold weather accessories, you can’t go wrong with a beanie. Beanies no longer mean skater-boy chic—now they have pom poms, ears, flowers, and more to make them feminine and fashionable. You can also really step it up with a ski hat, bomber hat, or furry headband or Cossack.

Socks

You might not have considered socks as a cute winter accessory, but if you’re wearing a skirt or dress, how are you going to spice up a pair of boring leggings or tights? Patterned ankle high socks can really pump up your look, while a pair of modern thigh-highs keep you warm and chic.

5 Reasons Swimming Is the Best Sport for Your Health

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Being healthy and having fun go hand-in-hand when you are swimming. This supersport can benefit your health better than most other forms of exercise for a number of reasons.

1. Swimming Provides a Total Body Workout

Swimming utilizes almost all the major muscle groups in the body, making it an exceptionally thorough form of exercise. In addition, it also:

  • Increases the heart rate without adding undue stress to the body, especially the joints
  • Tones muscles and improves overall strength
  • Helps maintain a healthy weight
  • Works the heart and lungs due to the cardiovascular benefits

While swimming does not build bone density because that requires weight-bearing exercise, it does improve bone strength, especially in post-menopausal women.

2. Swimming Helps Treat Injuries and Health Conditions

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Swimming is one way to continue getting gentle exercise, even while injured. It even helps the body heal due to the extremely low-impact placed on the body and joints. While swimming, 90% of body weight is supported by water.

With health conditions such as arthritis, inflammation often occurs, especially within and around joint spaces. This inflammation can restrict movement and cause swelling and pain. Swimming has a multitude of benefits for arthritis, including 

  • Strengthening and supporting the muscles which can further aid in preventing arthritis from worsening.
  • The movement itself is what helps prevent arthritis from worsening and with swimming, you get the action without the pain and discomfort that comes along with many other forms of exercise.
  • Water-based exercises help improve the utilization of the affected joints in osteoarthritis as well as decreasing pain.
  • People who have rheumatoid arthritis see more health improvements with hydrotherapy than with other forms of exercise.

3. Swimming Improves Mental Health

Exercise releases endorphins, which are the chemicals in our brain that make us feel happy. Swimming can help alleviate anxiety as well as boosting our mood. In a 2014 pilot study of people with dementia, those who swam regularly for 12 weeks, showed an improvement in mood.

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Swimming regularly can also help reduce the symptoms of anxiety and depression. The reason behind this is simple: swimming is a very calming and soothing activity due to the meditative quality of this unique form of exercise.

This activity allows more oxygen to flow to your muscles and forces you to regulate your breathing. Studies have also shown that swimming can influence the brain through a process known as hippocampal neurogenesis, where the brain replaces the cells that are lost through stress.

4. Swimming Helps Prevent Heart Disease

Exercise in general will, of course, help prevent heart disease, but swimming for just 30 minutes a day can help provide the following health benefits:

  • It can help to control cholesterol levels by reducing the bad cholesterol such as LDL and VLDL, which can cause high cholesterol levels in the blood.
  • Swimming can boost your metabolism – 30 minutes in the pool is equivalent to 45 minutes of land-based exercise, and it lowers blood pressure levels as well. 
  • It lowers the heart rate and improves breathing as well as circulation.

5. Swimming Helps You Lose Weight

As with most cardiovascular exercises, swimming burns calories resulting in weight loss when added along with a healthy diet plan. The added benefit with this activity is that the resistance from the water itself adds even more calorie-burning benefit, helping people get in shape.

Specific swimming exercises can even target your core, which further aid in reducing belly fat, such as

  • Flutter kicks which target the lower abs
  • Butterfly kicks which target the obliques

Compared with walking, swimming improves body weight, body fat distribution, and insulin levels. 

See the Benefits for Yourself

Small changes in our lifestyle can make a huge difference. Exercise is a beneficial change to our overall health and wellbeing, and swimming is at the top of the list. The best part is that swimming can be done at any age. Other sports can even be incorporated into your swimming session, including walking and running in the water. Whether you are doggie paddling or doing fancy butterfly strokes, your body will be getting healthier with each movement. When you add in the lack of stress on the joints, you can easily find yourself doing a mini-marathon and not even know you’ve done one!

Fitness Supplements & Diet Plan Tips for Bodybuilding

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For some people, bodybuilding is a hobby. For others, it’s a lifestyle. But in every case, the fitness goal is the same: a balanced, muscular, and chiseled physique to rival any ancient Olympian. To get the best results from your training, you need the right nutrition for bodybuilders along with the best supplements for muscle growth. Follow these tips to build a diet and supplement program that will help you develop your dream body faster.

#1: Recognize the Two Key Phases

All diet plans for bodybuilding must include two key phases: bulking and cutting. In the bulking phase, you’re focused on building muscle and gaining weight. In the cutting phase, it’s all about shredding the fat while protecting the muscle you built. Nutrition for bodybuilders in these two phases is practically the same — except for one key factor: you’ll want to eat 115% of your maintenance calorie requirements in the bulking phase to put on weight, and 85% of your maintenance calorie requirements in the cutting phase to reduce fat.

#2: Calculate Your Macros

We know that protein is essential for building muscle, but how much do you really need? According to experts, the best balance of macros for bodybuilding as a professional sport are:

  • 30–35% protein
  • 55–60% carbs
  • 15–20% fat

To work out these values in grams, multiply the percentages by your total calorie goal and convert the resulting values to grams. For protein and carbs, divide each calorie by 4 for grams, and divide each calorie of fat by 9. Here’s an example of nutrition for bodybuilders for someone with a maintenance intake of 2000 calories:

 Bulking PhaseCutting Phase
Calories2,3001,700
Protein (g)173-201126-149
Carbs (g)316-345234-255
Fat (g)38-5128-38

#3: Eat A Delicious, Varied Diet

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Unfortunately, nutrition for bodybuilders has developed a reputation for monotony. However, far from a diet of pure eggs and chicken, diet plans for bodybuilding can include as much variety as you like — as long as the food is nutritious and you’re including all of your macros and micros.

For protein, consider lesser-known treats like venison and turkey in addition to the usual chicken, beef, and fish. As far as grains, mix up the usual rice and pasta with some quinoa, barley, millet, and couscous. Many international dishes include a healthy balance of proteins, carbs, and fats. Just stay clear of refined sugars and oils that are high in omega-6 fatty acids as these foods are thought to increase inflammation and raise your risk for obesity and heart disease.

#4: Boost Your Results with Workout Supplements

Your weekly meal plan forms the backbone of your personalized nutrition for bodybuilders, but meeting your macros and micros consistently can prove to be more of a challenge. That’s where bodybuilding supplements come in.

Remember those protein values mentioned above? 201 grams of protein is a lot for even the most carnivorous among us — you’d have to eat eight meals every day! Instead of spending all your spare time calculating calories, grams, protein, and minerals, round out your program with the best supplements for muscle growth and supercharge your path to bulk.

In your diet plans for bodybuilding, consider the following evidence-based muscle-building supplements:

Before Your Workout

  • Glycerol monostearate for extra muscle pump
  • Creatine for going a few extra reps
  • Caffeine to reduce fatigue
  • Delta-8 to enhance your workouts

Before or During Your Workout

  • BCAAs and electrolytes to improve muscle hydration

After Your Workout

  • Whey or vegan protein for recovery and muscle repair

Build A Solid Program at LFTD. While there’s no magic pill, solid nutrition for bodybuilders along with the best supplements for muscle growth help you build your best body and keep it by maximizing every effort at the gym.

How to Prepare for Unexpected Unemployment – Top 8 Tips

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Nobody likes to consider the chance that they may find themselves unemployed, but due to the current pandemic and possible future recession, it’s a necessity that everyone should start thinking about. No matter how recession-proof you think your job may be, it’s always a good idea to start preparing for unemployment now.

If you’re unsure of how to prepare for unemployment,check this blog about the top eight ways you can ensure you’re ready for unexpected job loss.

  1. Trim Your Budget

Step one in how to prepare for unemployment is to take a look at your budget. How much of your income are you spending? Compare your spending on necessities versus luxuries. If you have any concerns about losing your job in the near future, cut down your budget as much as you can and don’t splurge on an extravagant vacation! Place all the money that you would normally put towards entertainment into your savings to prepare yourself for months with no income.

  1. Build Up The Emergency Fund

You might not have any specific savings accounts at this point, but you should now separate out at least two: an emergency fund and retirement savings. You should apply all of your extra funds towards these two accounts, with a special focus on your emergency fund during the time when your job may be in jeopardy.

Many people stop paying into their emergency fund once they reach a specific goal, but on our list of how to prepare for unemployment, the emergency fund is a critical part of surviving while jobless. Even if you’ve reached your initial goal for this account, keep paying into it until you have at least a year’s worth of living expenses.

  1. Look At Health Insurance

Many people rely on their employers for health insurance. When they lose their jobs, they never even consider what it means for their healthcare costs. You might think that COBRA could pick up the slack until you find new insurance, but this could be a heavy financial burden.

If you’re preparing for unemployment, you should start searching for health insurance options with your reduced income right now, so that you’re ready for whatever comes your way. There are a number of resources through the ACA that can help you find affordable healthcare no matter how much money you’re making.

  1. Speed Up Debt Repayment

One of the biggest burdens for those who are unemployed is still having to make payments toward various debts. Whether it’s a mortgage, student loans, or credit card debt, you should speed up your debt repayment, even if you have a low income. When preparing for unemployment, prioritize debts that have high interest rates or those that don’t offer deferment.

  1. Apply for Deferments

Rent and mortgage are at the top of everyone’s list when thinking about how to prepare for unemployment. The reason it’s not as vital as building up your emergency fund and trimming your budget is due to deferment and refinancing options. In cases like the current pandemic, many companies are suspending eviction and foreclosure to provide relief for people dealing with job loss.

You can reach out to your lender to see if you qualify for deferment; that suspends accruing interest and postpones payments until a later date. Negotiate with your lender to ensure the new payment dates are at a time when you’re sure you’ll have a steady income.

  1. Apply for Unemployment

Part of the taxes taken out of your paycheck is for unemployment insurance, and you should absolutely take advantage of this program if you lose your job. Part of learning how to prepare for unemployment is understanding the application and claim filing process. After you file a claim, it will take the unemployment office several weeks to process your application and attribute the correct Weekly Benefit Amount and Claim Balance to your account. Once they provide you with a claim summary, you can start certifying for your benefits — even if you have to do it retroactively.

  1. Start Networking

While everyone’s employment situation is different, it’s never too early to start refreshing your resume and networking with potential employers. Hunting for a new job can be very stressful and there are a number of preemptive steps you can take to make it easier.

In addition to ensuring your resume is up to date, you also want your social networking profiles to display you in the best possible light. Add all relevant skills to your LinkedIn profile and share successful projects on your Facebook page. Selling yourself to recruiters is critical for those preparing for unemployment.

  1. Find Supplemental Income

Starting a side job while you’re still employed is a great way to supplement your income and save more money. Whether it’s a hobby with marketable skills that you can turn into a part-time gig or a passion that you eventually want to transform into your own business, now is a good time to start building up your experience and resources. Did these tips help you learn how to prepare for unemployment? We want to hear from you! Comment below to start a conversation about the best ways to prepare for unexpected unemployment that we didn’t include in our blog.