1. How to reduce stress in 30 seconds: Chew gum

How to reduce stress? Please eat gum . According to researchers, the act of “chewing” is a great form of stress relief. If you’re stressed, chew gum, especially scented gum, for at least 30 minutes. From the moment you start chewing gum, you can feel your mind relaxed and light.

Researchers tested 101 people who chewed gum while working. The results showed that they were less stressed than those who did not eat. But chewing candy half-heartedly will not reduce stress, but chewing thoroughly will reduce stress.

2. Eat chocolate

Dark chocolate contains valeric acid, a substance that has relaxing and sedative effects. Eating chocolate is a way to help regulate hormone levels, fight stress and stabilize mood.

Besides, the sugar and sweetness of chocolate also make you more relaxed. Therefore, every time you are stressed, you can eat a small bar of chocolate to relieve and calm your spirit.

3. Ways to reduce stress: Laugh

What to do to reduce stress? Laughing loudly and cheerfully can have a positive impact on the body. According to the Mayo Clinic (USA), a good laugh can relieve stress and increase heart rate and blood pressure. In other words, it releases tension and increases blood flow to the heart and other vital organs, which can even positively affect blood sugar levels.

If you find it difficult to laugh, immediately watch a funny comedy movie or read funny stories.

4. Drink tea, how to reduce stress in 30 seconds

There are some supplements that can reduce stress, such as tea. When you feel stressed, stand up and make yourself a cup of hot or cold tea as you like.

According to researchers, it can take up to an hour for tea to reduce stress, but the act of taking a few minutes to brew tea is effective in reducing stress and helping the body relax.

5. Inhale aromatic essential oils

One of the ways to quickly reduce stress that many people use is to inhale aromatic essential oils. Inhaling essential oils can immediately help calm the mind during times of stress, anxiety, or insomnia. This aromatherapy focuses on using scent to balance mental health, emotions, mood…

There are many essential oils that you can choose to reduce stress, such as lavender, rose, cinnamon, roman chamomile, agarwood, lemongrass, peppermint, etc.

To quickly relieve stress in 30 seconds, you should choose scents that you love and stay away from scents that you hate, because they can make your mood worse.

How to reduce stress? You can pour a few drops of essential oil onto a cotton pad and breathe deeply for 10 times. In addition, using an essential oil diffuser to spread the fragrance into every space is also a good way to keep yourself from falling into stress.

6. Eat oranges, how to reduce stress in 30 seconds

Oranges are rich in vitamin C, which is not only good for the immune system and disease prevention but can also reduce stress. Researchers have found that taking a vitamin C boost when you’re feeling stressed can lower blood pressure and calm the body.

So if you feel anxious, eat oranges. Other fruits rich in vitamin C such as blueberries, strawberries, grapefruit… also have the same effect, so you can replace them if you don’t have oranges.

7. Listen to music

Research has proven that music has magical abilities, including effectively reducing stress. You can also combine listening to music with meditation, massage… to quickly reduce stress.

8. How to reduce stress in 30 seconds: Go to another room

According to a study at the University of Notre Dame, just a slight change in environment can instantly change your mood. They help change the flow of thoughts and help the body forget stress.

According to research, when you walk into another room, the brain sees it as a new event and essentially resets itself, forgetting what happened before. This is very effective to get rid of stressful thoughts.

9. Go for a walk

A recent study by the University of Edinburgh found that people with more green spaces, such as regularly walking under trees and breathing fresh air, had lower stress levels than those in the city.

A 2010 study in the journal Environmental Science & Technology also found that just five minutes outside in fresh air, doing a gentle activity like walking can significantly improve mood.

10. How to reduce stress? Try breathing 4-7-8

Breathing in a 4-7-8 rhythm is a quick method of providing oxygen to the body. This is an effective way to reduce anxiety, stress and depression.

How to perform the 4-7-8 breathing cycle is as follows:

• Place the tip of your tongue at the top of your mouth and keep it there.

• Slightly part your lips and exhale through your mouth.

• Close your lips, breathe in gently through your nose and count mentally from 1 to 4.

• Hold your breath for 7 seconds (count mentally to 7).

• Exhale forcefully for 8 seconds.

Do the 4-7-8 breathing technique when your mind is not thinking about anything else. This cycle should be repeated for 4 breaths.

11. Breathe through your belly

If you practice yoga, you probably know the abdominal breathing technique. Breathing through the belly, the deeper we breathe, the more our body will relax from the inside out. This is an effective way to reduce stress in 30 seconds.

What to do to reduce stress? A simple way is to breathe through your belly.

12. Try emotional freedom technique (EFT)

Emotional Freedom Technique – EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique), also known as a simple form of acupressure that anyone can do themselves. By touching or tapping the meridians, negative energy or pain will heal itself.

Perform EFT in 5 steps as follows:

• Identify the cause of your stress.

• On a scale of 0 to 10, write down the severity of the problem you are facing (10 is the highest).

• Then write down a solution to solve that problem. For example: “Even though I am feeling/facing/having _____ problems, I fully accept and love myself.”

• Gently tap on 8 points on the body in order: top of the head, eyebrows, sides of the eyes, under the eyes, under the nose, chin, collarbone and ribs. In each position, type 5 – 7 times. While typing each position, you silently read the phrase you are facing in “_____” in the sentence above. Do this sequence two to three times to achieve quick stress relief.

• Finally, evaluate how much your stress level has decreased. If not, repeat the EFT technique steps above.

13. Take a hot bath, an instant stress reliever

Taking a hot bath is also a simple way to reduce stress within 30 seconds. Because hot water helps reduce endorphin release and increase blood flow to parts of the body.

In addition, this also helps improve breathing, reduce the risk of heart attack, lower blood pressure and burn calories. For those living with chronic pain, hot baths can also help keep muscles loose and reduce flare-ups.

14. Talk to someone you trust

When you are facing stress and fatigue, don’t torture or torment yourself. Please share with friends, family, relatives – people you trust. Saying what’s making you “head heavy” is an immediate, effective way to reduce stress.

15. What to do to reduce stress? Coping with stress

If you often feel stressed, or you have been feeling stressed for a long time, instead of running away from it, face it bravely. Then, consider whether you need to rest or change anything in your life. If you have dared to face and change but the results are still not positive, seek the help of psychologists.

Above are 15 extremely effective ways to reduce stress in 30 seconds, which should be done every time you feel stressed or tired. Don’t let stress persist, because it can increase the risk of other mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety disorders and some dangerous diseases such as blood pressure, heart disease, and heart disease. stroke.

Red artichoke is a popular flower in tropical and subtropical areas. Although the name is red artichoke, its flower actually has 5 white petals, is rich in phytochemicals and high antioxidants such as vitamin C. The striking dark red color does not come from the flower but from the flower bud.

Uses of red artichoke flowers

People often harvest red artichokes when they are still buds and have not yet bloomed, then dry them to make tea or syrup. This is a common ingredient in the dishes of Southeast Asia, India and West Africa. Red artichoke has a light smell and a slightly sour taste.

Some legends say that, since ancient Egyptian times, red artichoke flowers have been used as medicine to treat fever, cardiovascular disease and neurological disorders. Today, red artichoke flowers are not only packaged into tea bags, but also in tablet, powder or tincture form.

Some African countries use red artichoke flower tea to lower body temperature, treat heart disease and sore throat. Iranians use this flower to treat high blood pressure.

However, most scientific studies on the medicinal properties of red artichoke flowers are not widely recognized, do not have enough data, and some are still based on animals. Some conclusions are quite contradictory. The ingredients used in the studies are mainly concentrated red artichoke flower extract, not the commonly used red artichoke tea or powder.

1. Can treat high blood pressure

According to a report published in the Journal of Hypertension in 2015, drinking red artichoke tea may be good for people with high blood pressure. The analysts relied on five trials conducted on 390 people, of whom 255 were given red artichoke flowers, the remaining 165 were given a placebo.

Research results show that drinking red artichoke tea every day will help reduce systolic blood pressure by about 7.5 mmHg, and diastolic blood pressure by an average of 3.53 mmHg.

However, another study published in the Journal of Human Hypertension showed that diastolic blood pressure did not decrease in people with type 2 diabetes.

2. The use of red artichoke flowers can treat diabetes

Red artichoke tea can help people with type 2 diabetes better control blood glucose levels. However, most of the current evidence is only from animal studies.

For example, a study published in Pharmacognosy Research in 2013 showed that an injection of red artichoke extract reduced glucose levels in laboratory mice by 12%. However, when people injected the same extract into normal mice, no change in glucose levels was found.

A study published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine in 2009 showed that: Among 60 diabetics given red artichoke tea or black tea twice a day for 1 month, those who drank artichoke tea Red tea had more good cholesterol, while bad cholesterol decreased more than black tea drinkers. Total cholesterol and triglycerides in people drinking red artichoke also decreased.

However, another report published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology in 2013 said that red artichoke tea did not change the amount of lipids in the blood, including cholesterol.

3. May aid weight loss

A study shows that the use of red artichoke flowers helps reduce BMI. Another study in Mexico also showed that red artichoke extract helps reduce cholesterol and triglycerides in humans, thereby reducing the risk of obesity.

However, the source of raw materials in these studies is red artichoke extract in concentrated doses. Therefore, more research is needed to prove that drinking low doses of red artichoke tea can also help you lose weight .

4. Red artichoke flowers can treat heart disease

The heart disease-treating properties of red artichoke flowers come from the organic color compound anthocyanin. This is a powerful antioxidant, giving plants their purple or red color. Anthocyanins are also included in treatment regimens for lung disease, cancer, arteriosclerosis and eye diseases.

5. Red artichoke flowers can be good for the liver

A small study of 19 overweight people showed that after 12 weeks of using red artichoke extract, their fatty liver condition improved.

A study on hamsters also found red artichokes’ hepatoprotective properties, potentially increasing drug-metabolizing enzymes in the liver by 65%.

6. What are the effects of red artichoke flowers? Can prevent cancer

Red artichoke flowers are rich in polyphenols, a group of compounds with powerful anti-cancer properties. Laboratory research shows that red artichoke extract can inhibit the growth and invasion of plasma and oral cancer cells.

Another study also showed that red artichoke leaf extract can prevent prostate cancer and inhibit stomach cancer cells in humans.

7. Helps fight bacteria

A laboratory study found that red artichoke flower extract inhibited E.coli bacteria and eight other common bacterial strains.

Harmful effects of red artichoke flowers

• Red artichoke flowers are generally safe and have no side effects. Harm only comes when you overdose.

Overdosing on supplements, tinctures or red artichoke powder can cause stomach pain, bloating, constipation, vomiting, painful urination, headaches, tinnitus, and can especially damage the liver. Drinking too much red artichoke tea can also cause dizziness and fatigue due to its impact on blood pressure.

• Like other herbs, red artichoke can counteract the effects of some medications, such as blood pressure medications. When you take red artichoke at the same time as antihypertensive drugs, you may experience a drop in blood pressure.

• Similarly, taking high doses of red artichoke supplements along with diabetes medications may cause low blood sugar.

• Red artichoke may reduce the effectiveness of medications containing acetaminophen used to relieve pain and reduce fever, or the diuretic hydrochlorothiazide used for people with high blood pressure.

• Red artichoke may not be safe for people taking chloroquine to treat malaria.

• Red artichokes contain phytoestrogen, a plant compound that functions similar to estrogen in humans. Therefore, drinking red artichoke regularly can reduce the effectiveness of estrogen-type birth control pills.

• Because there is no research on the effects of red artichoke on pregnant and breastfeeding women, it is best for this group of people not to drink red artichoke tea.

Where are red artichokes grown?

Red artichoke flowers are mainly grown in Da Lat and Lam Dong, but now Binh Thuan, Ninh Thuan, Quang Nam and some other localities are also grown.

If you buy goods imported from the US, you should choose products certified by the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture). You should buy products with the word Hibiscus sabdariffa printed on the packaging.

How to use red artichoke

There are no specific instructions on how to use red artichoke, but if you buy pills, the safe dose is 250 – 400mg/day.

To make red artichoke tea, dip 1.25g (equivalent to 1.5 teaspoons) of dried red artichoke into 150ml of boiling water. Soak for 10 minutes and you can drink it. If you are taking medication, you should limit red artichoke tea to no more than 2-3 cups per day. It is best to consult your doctor.

In addition to the buds, red artichoke flowers are also safe, however, the flower petals are often dried for flavoring purposes, not for eating.

How to soak red artichoke flowers with sugar

Ingredient

• 3kg of red artichoke buds
• 2.5kg of white sugar

Making

• Wash the flower buds, cut off the sepals, then use chopsticks to push the pistils up from the bottom. This pistil can be soaked in wine or made into tea to drink.

• Wash the remaining buds with salt water, then rinse with filtered water.

• Use a washed and drained glass jar. Then spread a layer of sugar on the bottom, then add a layer of red artichoke buds, spread a layer of sugar on top and repeat the step of adding red artichoke flowers. Keep doing this until all the flowers are gone, then cover the top with a layer of sugar and close the lid.

• After 5 days the sugar dissolves, you can use this water to make drinks, or boil the candy to turn it into syrup.

• To make syrup, boil the water on the stove and simmer until it thickens. Then turn off the stove, let it cool and put it in a jar to store in the refrigerator. You can mix it with drinking water to treat coughs or use it as an ingredient in cakes and jellies.

• Use the flower buds to make jam.

Above are the uses of red artichoke flowers as well as the harmful effects and how to make syrup. In short, red artichoke flowers are rich in antioxidants and many healthy nutrients. However, science still needs more research before introducing this herb to users. At first, you can see red artichoke flowers as a refreshing tea or syrup to enhance the flavor of dishes. Don’t look at it as a miracle medicine and supplement it the wrong way.