Summer Fruits You’ll Love for Their Incredible Health Benefits and Tempting Tastes (Including 3 That Are Surprisingly Healthy!)

What fruits are in season in summer? And how can they benefit your health? Learn about summer fruits that are naturally delicious and bursting with benefits.

Ah, summer. The temperatures heat up, the days get longer, and activities abound. Fresh fruits can help you survive (and thrive!) all season long.

Summer fruits give you energy and nutrients your body needs, help cool you down and stay hydrated, and can even help protect you from the sun.

And overall, fruits have been found to be spectacularly effective in treating and preventing a variety of health conditions.

For example, they have been found to help reduce heart disease. The province of North Karelia in Finland convinced local dairy farmers to grow berries on some of their pasturelands to increase fruit consumption and improve the health of its citizens.

By replacing animal-based foods with berries, along with other healthful changes, in only one generation, the region went from having one of the highest rates of heart disease in the world to one of the lowest. In a population of 170,000 Finns, cardiovascular mortality dropped by more than 70% — an unparalleled achievement.

Impressive! But that’s not all… Fruits have also helped patients all over the world lose weight and lower LDL (bad) cholesterol levels. And contrary to popular belief, fruits can reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Not to mention, fruit is naturally sweet (no added sugar needed) and oh so delicious — whether enjoyed on its own or in a smoothie, salad, dessert, or another dish.

Why Eat Fruit That’s In Season?

The Ultimate Guide to Hosting or Attending A Healthy, Plant-Powered 4th of July Celebration (Or Other Summer Party)

Want to have a summer party that is both festive and healthy? These tips, foods, and healthy July 4th recipes will help you enjoy get-togethers that nourish your body and support your health deliciously.

Sitting in the sunshine all day, burgers and hot dogs sizzling on the grill, plates piled high with mayo-drenched potato salad, fireworks shooting across the sky, and red, white, and blue everywhere you look.

For many Americans, this is an annual tradition. And like most holidays, the 4th of July — U.S. Independence Day — is known for some unhealthy practices. You probably don’t expect to find healthful foods at most parties. But what if you want to host a summer get-together, or attend one, without sacrificing your health?

The following tips and recipes will help you create (or participate in) a 4th of July celebration or another summer party that won’t disrupt your healthy lifestyle.

Purple vegetables may be pretty, but they also have powerful health benefits. See why and get mouthwatering recipes for 10 purple vegetables.

The color purple often symbolizes royalty and magic. And lately, purple vegetables have been popping up in more places.

Wondering about the best thing to drink when sick? Drink these comforting, healing beverages when you’re sick to boost your immune system and get well again quickly.

The weather may be dreary, but you’re feeling cheery… until, suddenly, sickness strikes. The soreness in your throat. The achy feeling in your body. The extreme lack of energy. Even your mood turns sour.

As the signs of sickness set it, you may be tempted to lay on the couch and feel bad for yourself. And yes, you do need rest (and a good dose of zzzzzzs). But why not use this as an opportunity to take care of your health?

Choosing healthy, fresh, whole plant foods may be the best way to care for your body in its time of need. And doing your best to prevent illness before symptoms hit is always a good idea.

But when you’re unwell, the right healing beverages may help ease your woes and even end your illness. (Even if you don’t feel like drinking them.)

What Should You Be Drinking When You’re Sick?

You’ve probably heard it before. When you’re sick, you need to drink plenty of fluids.

It’s true. You want your body to be well-hydrated so it can fight off germs.

But it is possible, though not very likely, to drink too much water or other liquids. So you shouldn’t be downing buckets of water — or even guzzling gallons of green tea. (Flooding your body with fluid won’t actually flush out the bugs.)

It’s true that most people don’t drink enough water. But as in so many things, the answer is balance. Even when you’re well, drinking too many fluids can overwhelm your kidneys and liver, making it harder for them to get rid of toxins.

Instead, you may want to drink a little more than the often recommended eight glasses of fluid throughout the day (and pay attention to your body). Doing this should help you get what you need without going overboard.

You may not feel like drinking anything. (If so, I get it. In college, I ended up in the ER from dehydration when I got the flu.) But you really do need to drink a good amount of fluids when you’re sick.

Do Hot Liquids Ease Cold and Flu Symptoms?

Hot liquids, like a warm cup of tea, are said to clear up congestion — but is this true?

The answer is yes. Researchers at the Common Cold Center at Cardiff University in Britain investigated this claim. Their results supported the belief that hot drinks can provide helpful relief for most cold and flu symptoms.

The hot drinks provided immediate and sustained relief from a runny nose, coughing, sneezing, a sore throat, chilliness, and tiredness. On the other hand, the same drink at room temperature only provided relief from a runny nose, coughing, and sneezing.

Best Thing to Drink When Sick? 13 Easy Healing Beverage Ideas

No liquid will magically make your symptoms disappear in a snap. But these libations are good for your body and won’t cause nasty side effects (like you need that). And they can help revive your spirits, too.

When I’m feeling under the weather, I typically don’t want to make complicated foods and drinks. So these suggestions are not only healthy and comforting but also quick and easy, too. Try these home remedies for cold and flu and see if they help you.

Get an overview of vegan statistics from around the world. See why so many people are going vegan — from athletes to celebrities to everyday people. The rise of plant-based diets is here to stay. 

Diets that limit or exclude meat, dairy products, and eggs used to be on the fringe and were seen as fads. Identifying as vegetarian, vegan, or plant-based was often viewed as weird or extreme — more the domain of hippies and activists than of large numbers of everyday people.

Until recently, references to vegan eating in the mainstream media were often negative. And meat-free food options weren’t universally available or appetizing. But now, all that is changing.

Much of the world is trending towards plant-based eating — and this global shift could be here to stay.

Millennials are central drivers of this worldwide shift away from consuming animal products. But the plant-based movement is bigger than any one generation. Everyone from celebrities to athletes to entire companies including Google and countries as big as China are supporting the movement to eat more plant-based foods.

Plant-based eating may not be entirely mainstream yet. But it’s becoming more accepted every day. And this trend is having far-reaching impacts.

Vegan Statistics: Incredible Signs the Global Demand for Plant-Based Foods Is Rising

First of all, according to a forecast report by restaurant consultancy group Baum + Whiteman in New York, “plant-based” will be the food trend of 2018. The report also anticipates that plant-based foods will become the new organic.

In addition, Nestlé, the largest food company in the world, predicts that plant-based foods will continue to grow and … this trend is “here to stay.”

No matter how healthy your diet is, many modern eaters are lacking in essential nutrients. If you want to thrive on a plant-based diet, consider these supplements for vegetarians and supplements for vegans. 

Whether for health, ethical, or environmental reasons, hundreds of millions of people are basing their diets around plant foods.

A whole food, plant-centered diet offers tremendous advantages, including reduced risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity, dementia, and many other ailments, according to research.

But due to the realities of our modern times, a large number of plant-based eaters aren’t getting specific nutrients from plant foods. And failure to get these nutrients can cause serious consequences.

Many people think a healthy diet should supply all the nutrients you need for optimal health. And that is basically true.

Bright orange pumpkins are popular symbols of fall. But pumpkins are much more than something to carve or serve in a pie.

You can use pumpkin in a variety of sweet and savory dishes. And when you discover all the powerful health benefits of pumpkins, you’ll see why the humble pumpkin can be an easy and affordable way to boost your health and add color to your meals.

Today, the majority of people in most of the developed world get more than half their calories from processed, fast, and fake foods. The fast food health risks are shocking. And it’s only getting worse.

The global fast food market is growing. And the demand for packaged foods is predicted to increase as well.

Industrialized food industry giants like KFC, Nestlé, and McDonald’s are aggressively expanding in developing nations and getting people hooked, in places such as Brazil,Ghana, China, and India, where obesity and other health issues are becoming an epidemic.

Fast and processed foods are common today. But they may be more destructive for our health and for society as a whole than you ever imagined.

Humans and animals. How are we different? Or perhaps a better question might be — How are we the same?

Some people believe that animals aren’t conscious and that they don’t have empathy or feel pain. Others believe that humans are above animals and that we can do with them whatever we wish.

But why do we think these things?

Watch the following three powerful and compelling videos and see if you’re thinking shifts.

Video 1: Do animals have emotions?

In this first, very short video, Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard questions why we regard human life as having infinite value but see the value of animals as being almost zero.

Around the world, 350 million people report suffering from depression. And by the year 2020, depression may be the second leading cause of healthy years of life lost (behind only to heart disease). But a new study gives hope to sufferers of this devastating condition.

The Canadian government has released a new draft of their food guide, which has some surprising and exciting recommendations, including favoring whole, plant-based foods and suggesting that dairy and meat products should have a smaller role in our diets. 

With its new recommendations for healthy eating, it seems like the Canadian government is actually listening to what the public wants and focusing on the latest science.

Cancer, type 2 diabetes, stroke, infections, and diseases of the kidneys, heart, respiratory tract, and liver all linked to red meat consumption.

Amazon has announced plans to acquire Whole Foods for $13.7 billion. This is a big move that shocked many. Is this a good thing? A bad thing? Or both? What does it mean for the future of food — and the future of natural and organic foods, in particular?

Switching to a plant-powered diet can be a great choice for your health. But doing so can also help save our planet and ensure a bright future for generations to come.

How to become the CEO of your own health and live a crazy, sexy life.

“Healing is all about self-reliance.” — Kris Carr

Do you want to truly live a vibrant, healthy, and big life every single day?

Have you or someone you care about ever faced cancer? Or maybe you fear cancer for yourself or your friends and family? Or maybe you or someone you love was recently diagnosed with a different disease or health concern?

Heart disease is all around us. You probably know someone who’s had a heart attack or maybe you’ve had one yourself. This deadly disease is claiming more than 17 million lives globally each year. But is the last heart attack possible?