An essential piece of living a healthy lifestyle is taking time to de-stress and relax. The question is - How to reduce stress?
For many of us, that equates to indulging in alcohol, but alcohol can sabotage your health goals and is one of the worst things for general well-being.
Here's some healthy ways to blow off steam, improve your mood, lower inhibitions, and relax naturally without the toxic empty calories of alcohol.
- Kava-Kava
Originally from the South Pacific, KAVA (or Kava-Kava) root can be purchased in a variety of forms including teas, supplements, powders, and extracts. Kava-Kava works as a mild sedative and has a rich history of social, ceremonial, and medicinal uses. Like alcohol, Kava eases anxiety, elevates mood, releases inhibitions, and promotes relaxation, but UNLIKE alcohol, it saves you the empty calories, is non-addictive, and won’t leave you with a nasty hangover.
- Essential Oils
ESSENTIAL OILS are a great way to boost your sense of relaxation naturally. You can rub essential oils on the bottoms of your feet or your temples, inhale, or use a diffuser.
Lavender, bergamot, chamomile, and ylang-ylang are just a few of the powerful oils that absorb rapidly into the bloodstream, quickly affect brain chemistry, and help to dissipate stressful and negative emotions.
- Raw Cacao
Get in on the RAW CACAO craze! In Europe, some club-goers are replacing booze (and other toxic, mood-altering substances) with raw cacao. In high doses, raw cacao can induce mild feelings of euphoria, relaxation, and reduced social inhibitions. We boarded the Raw Cacao train a while back with our Cacao Hemp Smoothie, a fan favorite that is featured in our Protein Cleanse.
- Exercise
Skip the bar and get high on endorphins instead: GO EXERCISE! Running, swimming, and spinning are great ways to get your blood flowing, reduce nervous tension, and boost your mood.
In general, keeping a regular exercise routine is one of the most powerful ways to promote a positive mental state and manage the stressful emotions that trigger cocktail cravings in the first place.
- Drink Cold-Pressed Juice
COLD-PRESSED JUICE can have a powerful influence on your mood. That's because it provides a highly concentrated dose of essential nutrients.
It might surprise you just how much your daily nutrition impacts your state of mind. Although a person's mood is complicated and influenced by many variables, the food you eat actually does directly impact your mental clarity and your day-to-day energy levels.
Leafy green juices, like those featured in our Lower Sugar* Cleanse, in particular, are an excellent way to instantly banish brain fog and boost your energy.
...And if you can't resist the urge to have a cocktail, try using cold-pressed juice as a mixer. We have some delicious cocktail creations with juices from our Skinny Cleanse. It will help to prevent hangover symptoms and save you from empty calories!