How many balls do you have in the air right now? Work, family commitments, bills… we juggle so much every single day it’s no wonder depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide with more than 300 million people suffering globally. So how can we cope? Click here for some practical tools to keep you sane in this crazy world…

1. Drink More Water

Dehydration is linked to depression and other mood disorders because 85% of the brain tissue is water. But how much is enough? It all depends on your weight, outside temperature and how much you exercise. The best way to tell if you’re drinking enough is the color of your urine, if it’s a pale yellow you are adequately hydrated but if it’s dark yellow start pounding the H20. Water quality is also an important factor, get yourself a good filter so your water source is clean and pure.

I was looking to improve my general health and wellbeing and was feeling tired, bloated and heavy a lot of the time and it was even showing in my skin. I knew it was to do with some bad eating habits I’d developed from spending a lot of time in front of computers and giving in to the weekend temptations with lots of meals out with friends. Working at Food Matters, I know how to eat healthy, but sometimes I just don’t (we are all humans, right?), and I thought a great way to launch myself into a better routine would be through doing a full 7 day cleanse and starting with a blank slate, so to speak. I knew cleanses had the power to help you lose weight, improve digestion and get better sleep but I was cautious about starting a cleanse that would include extreme detoxing or starving myself, I love my food! A realistic and gentle cleanse was really what I needed because I didn’t want to subsist only on lemon juice or some other fad cleanse that could be hit or miss anyway. So James challenged me to complete the 7 Day Food Matters Cleanse. 

Often we believe that keeping our food in the fridge is the best way to maintain freshness and longevity. While this is the case for many day-to-day food items, there are several common foods that are far better left out of the refrigerator, both for taste and nutritional value. Cold temperatures can actually accelerate the decomposition process in some foods and cause them to lose their original flavor and vital enzymes. Keeping these items in the fridge won’t cause any serious harm, yet being aware of the most beneficial ways to store your food will help to prosper your own health, as well as help to lower food waste. We are all globally responsible for 4 billion tons worth of food wastage per year. So taking small precautionary measures to understand food storage can have a bigger impact than simply having great tasting tomatoes on hand!
Here are the top ten items that are best left out of your refrigerator.

Your fascia – the interconnective tissue beneath your skin – has often been called the “missing link” in modern medicine. All your muscles, bones, arteries, veins and cells LIVE INSIDE this connective tissue. Science has proven that fascial restrictions are often the cause of skeletal misalignments that result in joint pain, headaches, chronic pain and conditions like depression, TMJ and fibromyalgia.

Unfortunately, most forms of exercise, including yoga, neglect the fascia. They don’t nourish or hydrate this interconnective tissue. In these classes, award-winning yoga instructor Brett Larkin guides you through the movements science has proven your fascia needs to be healthy: unprogrammed movement, biomorphic movement, undulation and variations on Yin yoga to work DIRECTLY with your fascia for optimal health and well-being. No prior movement experience or knowledge of the fascia is required. All you need is your body — and awareness.

Perhaps the idea of making (and sticking to!) a meal plan makes you cringe. Maybe you have been down that road before and the enthusiasm of the initial plan fades as each day of the week slips by. Following a healthy meal plan shouldn’t feel like a chore. A successful meal plan is a guide that will support you to make healthy food choices and reach your ideal wellness goals. Luckily, long gone are the days where meal plans are dull or depriving. Developing a meal plan that excites you is an easy way to stay on track and stay committed. So, how do you take the first steps to creating a meal plan that works for you? We have some tried and tested tips to help you on your way.

The remedy we have for you today is ideal if you want to lose a lot of weight without dieting or exercise. The remedy is actually a beverage made of cinnamon and honey, which provides numerous other health benefits besides helping you lose fat.

The mixture will improve your digestion, detoxify your body and accelerate your metabolism as well. It will also alkalize your body and assist in the breakdown of fat. Cinnamon is a sweet spice that offers numerous health benefits – it improves the absorption of nutrients in the body and regulates the insulin production, effectively preventing diabetes. On the other hand, honey is a nectar that can boost your digestion and metabolism and assist in the fat burning process.

You’ll never look at the humble banana the same way again after discovering the many health benefits and reasons to add them to your diet.

They can help to combat depression, make you smarter, cure hangovers, relieve morning sickness, protect against kidney cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis, and blindness. Plus they can even cure the itch of a mosquito bite and put a great shine on your shoes.

Here are 25 reasons to eat bananas you might have never considered before.

Almost 60 million Americans spend their nights in fitful slumber; tossing and turning, wrestling with the need to get to sleep and yet torturously being unable to do so.

We all know those nights when no amount of counting sheep will work and each hour stretches by with increasing frustration.

Yet there are many options to help you sleep better, ranging from meditation to aromatherapy. But what if the solution was actually in your gut, of all places?