Friday, February 7, 2014

3 Home Remedies Sourced Straight from the Faucet

Some home remedies require a cabinet full of materials or obscure ingredients you’d have to trek across town (or the globe) to get. Luckily, you can just turn on your kitchen or bathroom sink and get a quick fix to boost mood, promote shiny hair, and even encourage weight loss!
Boost mood
While they may not be the most pleasant, cold showers may stimulate the part of the brain that produces noradrenaline, a chemical which may help alleviate depression, according to researchers at the Department of Radiation Oncology at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine.For the less bold, even splashing your face with cold water has been found to provide a quick diversion to stress and nervous energy, as the rush of cold water helps mitigate the body’s flight-or-fight response triggered by stress.
Get glossy locks
An old trick in salons and still often a hair stylist standby, doing a cold rinse after shampooing and conditioning helps close the cuticle, leaving hair temporarily shinier and smoother.2 For extra shine, use the cool setting on your hair dryer.
Enhance weight loss efforts
While it’s no substitute for diet and exercise, drinking cold water can burn up to approximately an extra 70 calories a day, as the body burns calories when it has to raise the temperature of the ingested ice water to body temperature.3
Further, a study from Britain’s Thrombosis Research Institute found that participants who took cold showers increased their white blood cell count, which in turn sped up the metabolic rate and also stimulated the immune system. 
www.gooddeedsmall.com 
Sources:
  1. Shevchuk NA, “Adapted Cold Shower…Depression,” Medical Hypotheses.
  2. Harper’s Bazaar, “Get Thick, Shiny Hair,” HarpersBazaar.com.
  3. Discovery Fit & Health, “Does Drinking Ice Water Burn Calories?” HowStuffworks.com.

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