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Splinters under the skin are easier to remove with simple home remedies. This is how it works and you should pay attention to this.

Tweezers, baking soda and warm water will help

The splinter can usually be removed with tweezers. It is important here that it is sterile so that no germs get under the skin. You should also disinfect your hands beforehand. Some dexterity is required to grip with the tweezers. If you’re too rough, the splinter can break up into smaller pieces that are even more difficult to remove. Important: Do not push the splinter out, as this will push it even deeper under the skin. However, some splinters are so small that other means are required.

The first home remedy of choice is baking soda. To remove the splinter with baking soda, you will need 1 tablespoon of baking soda, 1 band aid or gauze bandage, and some water. The water needs to be mixed with the baking soda to form a paste-like liquid and then applied over the splinter. Cover the treated area with a plaster or gauze bandage for a few hours. Either the splinter has dissipated or you can now pull it out more easily with tweezers.

You can also detect splinters better with warm water. Place the injured area in a bowl of warm water several times a day. The splinter is easier to see when it is swollen, so that you can then remove it with the tweezers.

Other home remedies: tape and olive oil

The adhesive tape solution is also worth trying. For this you need strong adhesive tape, which you stick to the affected skin area. Then pull the tape off in the direction in which the splinter comes out of the skin. Ideally, it then sticks to it and is no longer in your finger. If you’d rather skip this more painful method, you might want to try olive oil. If you let this soak into the skin for a few minutes, you can better grab the splinter with the tweezers.

The bottle method is ideal for fingertip splinters. To do this, fill a bottle with hot water up to about one centimeter below the bottleneck. Then press your fingertip on the opening of the bottle. The warm water pushes the splinter out of the skin and can then be pulled out with tweezers.

If you have successfully removed the splinter, you should clean the wound again with disinfectant or alcohol. If no home remedy has served its purpose and your skin has been reddening for a long time around the splinter, you should have the whole thing looked at by a doctor. Incidentally, it sometimes helps to simply get a second person to help you pull out the splinter.

The hiit workout is becoming increasingly popular. Especially as a beginner you should pay attention to a few things during the training.

The hiit workout for beginners: definition and process

The abbreviation “Hiit” stands for High Intensity Interval Training. Translated, this means something like high-intensity interval training and thus already fundamentally defines what it is actually about. You can choose between two forms: One possibility is to switch between exercises that are highly intensive and exercises that are more relaxed. Alternatively, intensive training intervals can be interrupted with short breaks.

Before training begins, it makes sense to do a quick warm-up. This does not have to be a long process: it is enough if the muscles are warmed up for about five to ten minutes with easy exercises. This way you can avoid injuries and start the exercises optimally.

Basically, the Hiit workout is suitable for everyone. The training goal can be set individually and the training success can be achieved through the right motivation. Especially at the beginning, the workout is particularly strenuous for the body; However, if you stay on the ball, the body will adjust to it after a certain time.

Inspiration: This is what a hiit workout could look like

The hiit workout can be designed as you wish. Ideally, you can choose the sports that you also enjoy: In this way, the highly intensive training also has a fun factor. Suitable sports include cycling, running, jumping rope, weightlifting or classic circuit training with exercises such as squats or burpees.

As a beginner, the duration of a training session should be around 20 minutes. Depending on the training progress and resilience, the duration can be slightly increased on a weekly basis so that you can achieve maximum effects. The number of repetitions per interval can also be varied according to the level of training.

For example, an idea for a beginner hiit workout at home would be 20 seconds of hard work followed by 30 seconds of rest. For example, you can choose jumping jacks, push-ups, crunches, squats, burpees and planks as exercises. You can then repeat this in four intervals to fill the 20-minute training time.

Equipment needed for a hiit workout

When it comes to efficient training, many people initially think of classic training with fitness equipment. However, hiit training follows a different concept, making it highly attractive to a large audience.

Most of the exercises amount to training with your own body weight. Equipment is therefore not necessarily required: You can carry out the workout whenever and wherever you want. Duration, time and location can be determined by yourself: Training outdoors is also possible. The training also collects a plus point because it is so inexpensive.

If you still want to train with training equipment, this is also compatible with the Hiit workout. Depending on which exercises you want to do, a sports mat*, resistance bands, kettlebells* can be used as equipment.

What does the hiit workout bring?

Compared to typical cardio endurance training, hiit training should be able to boost fat burning even more effectively. This is achieved by stimulating the metabolism: a plus point for anyone who wants to achieve rapid training success.

The metabolism should be boosted so much by the strong stress phases that a so-called “afterburn effect” occurs. This means that fat and calorie burning continues the day after your workout

Muscle building can also be achieved through exercises that require heavy muscle strain. Hiit training can therefore increase endurance and stimulate the build-up of muscle mass.

Possible mistakes in the hiit workout: You should pay attention to this

In order for the Hiit workout to be able to produce maximum success, it is important to give the body time to regenerate. Ideally, the regeneration phase should last at least one day so that the body can be fully loaded again during the next training session. It is recommended to do the training about twice a week at the beginning. Advanced users can also increase the training to three or even four units.

The training itself should not be underestimated: the body is repeatedly subjected to maximum stress. Especially as a beginner, you should be careful not to overdo it right away, but to start with fewer repetitions and gradually challenge yourself more. To avoid injuries, you should make sure you do the exercises correctly. It is also important to always repeat the exercises on both sides of the body: This way you avoid one-sided training.

If you want to achieve your goals, you should not only pay attention to the training itself, but also to your diet. Even if the metabolism is stimulated by physical activity, the basis for success is a balanced and healthy diet.

Fresh from the fridge, the butter is hardly spreadable. There are little tricks to get them spreadable.

This is how butter is made

As soon as the milk arrives at the dairy, it is separated into cream and skimmed milk. The cream is then heated.
After the cream has been heated (pasteurization), it is sent to a tank called the cream ripener. There it rests together with cultures for a maximum of 20 hours until the cream has a slightly sour taste.
The cream is then processed in a butter-making machine with many kneading processes. This should create a solid but still spreadable butter.
Now the finished butter is portioned and packaged.

Why does butter solidify in the fridge?

Butter reacts very differently to cold compared to margarine. This is due to the different fat composition of the two dairy products, but there are more differences between the two items. Butter contains more saturated fat, which hardens when cold. Whipping the butter also plays an important role, because the consistency changes with the size of the fat globules. The composition of the animal feed also influences the spreadability and the ingredients. For example, if cows get a lot of green fodder, the butter contains more omega-3 fatty acids. On the other hand, corn and a lot of concentrated feed lower this ingredient again.

Soften the butter with water

Spreading the butter quickly at room temperature does not work. You don’t always want to or can’t put the fat spread in the microwave and so every day people put one or more holes in their bread slices, which are now filled with a whole piece of firm butter. But with the following simple trick, the problem is now over.

Here’s how it works

Get a glass jar that’s slightly larger than the butter. Now pour hot water into this and let it stand for a few minutes. Meanwhile, the glass absorbs the heat of the water and you can pour off the water. Now put the warm glass over your butter and wait a few minutes. After just a short time, your butter will be wonderfully spreadable and can be spread on bread or processed in a dough without any problems.

Make butter spreadable with lunch box

If you still want to have your butter ready to spread without any effort, you can achieve this with a water-cooled ceramic butter dish. With this storage, the butter always stays fresh and soft. The butter dish doesn’t even need to be placed in the fridge. Only the lower part of the container is filled with cold tap water. The idea of ​​the ceramic jar came about at a time when there was neither electricity nor a refrigerator, which is why it has a long tradition.

Intermittent fasting, low-carb & Co. – alternative forms of nutrition are all the rage. This also includes a new, old form of nutrition: the sugar-free diet. With this, it is not enough to do without for a short time, but you should change your diet in the long term. Read here how exactly the zero-sugar diet works.

Living sugar-free – that’s how it works

To understand how a sugar-free diet can succeed, it is necessary to define the type of sugar involved. In the case of the sugar-free diet, it is not about the strict omission of carbohydrates, nor about the complete renunciation of table sugar. Rather, it targets the so-called “free sugar”. The World Health Organization understands the type of sugar to be all types of sugar that are added to food and drinks. This also includes the sugar found in fruit juices, honey and syrup.

The question that most people ask themselves when it comes to a sugar-free diet is what is still allowed to be eaten. If you start with the sugar-free diet, it is enough to do without the usual household sugar. So on the so-called sucrose, which is present in large quantities in sugar beets, sugar palms and sugar cane. This includes omitting the sugar in coffee and adding additional sugar to various dishes.

They rely on mostly unprocessed foods. As a result, you eat fewer calories over the long term and thereby lose weight. The hardest part is identifying where that sugar is. You often don’t suspect it at first glance. The following foods are taboo in this diet:
Sweetened drinks (soft drinks,..) and food (fruit yoghurt, jam…)
fruit juices, smoothies and fruit juice concentrates
Industrially heavily processed foods (fast food, white bread, sauces…)
Sweets (chocolate, gummy bears, cake, ice cream,..)
Dried fruit (mango, figs, dates,..)
Dishes from restaurants or snack bars

Even if that sounds like a lot of renunciation at first glance, there is not too little that you can still enjoy. Especially if you cook a lot yourself, the problem almost solves itself. Some foods that one is allowed to eat and drink are as follows:
Mineral water, unsweetened coffee or tea, calorie-free light drinks
vegetables and fresh fruit
fish, meat and eggs
Natural dairy products (cheese, natural yoghurt…)
Whole grain products (bread, pasta, rice…)
Legumes (peas, beans and lentils…)
Nuts, seeds and kernels (walnuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds…)
Oils and fats (oil, butter…)
Sugar free sweets

Most people don’t even know how much sugar they’re consuming without realizing it. This also leads to withdrawal symptoms when giving up, because sugar is addictive. These can last one to two weeks. After that you should have overcome the following symptoms:
mood swings
headache
cravings
fatigue
exhaustion

Once the body has gotten used to the abstinence, people actually only benefit from the effects of the zero-sugar diet. On the one hand, you lose weight and become fitter in general. The otherwise tempting craving for sweets does not occur and the blood sugar level levels off constantly. On the other hand, this has the consequence that the risk of diabetes also decreases. The risk of other diseases also decreases. These include cardiovascular diseases, cancer and osteoarthritis.

Lose weight without much effort? – That’s fine. Because the key to every success in losing weight is not in meager diets: A fitness expert explains why it can theoretically also work with chips and cola to let those annoying pounds tumble.

In theory, you can also lose weight with chips and cola

The calorie requirement is the index of energy that the body needs to function. However, this is not the same for every person, but individual. Nutrients are divided into three so-called “macronutrients” or “macros”. These are carbohydrates, proteins and fats.
one gram of carbohydrates is over four calories
a gram of protein is over four calories
a gram of fat over nine calories
Fitness trainer Yannick Reinlein is certain that you can fill your calorie balance with unhealthy foods. For example, you can very well lose or maintain your weight with a diet that consists only of chips. However, Reinlein emphasizes that from his point of view this is not recommended. “You can definitely lose weight with the motto calories equal calories, but whether that’s healthy is a completely different question,” he says.

According to Reinlein, there are two main reasons why you shouldn’t do this: satiety and the feeling of hunger. “50 grams of carbohydrates from potatoes or gummy bears make no difference in terms of the calorie balance, but potatoes have a significantly higher satiety effect. So you don’t have to go hungry,” says Reinlein.

After all, unhealthy foods don’t have this name from just anywhere. Logically, it’s ultimately about the calorie balance that keeps the body functioning, but similar to an internal combustion engine, it’s always important to have the right fuel for the engine in question. “It’s exactly the same as cream and salmon. Both have fat, but the percentage of unsaturated fatty acids in salmon is much higher than that in cream, making it a much healthier source of fat,” explains the fitness expert.

You can lose weight by eating unhealthy foods

Especially with a diet that focuses on losing weight, it is important to change your diet and use healthy foods. True to the motto “you are what you eat”, nutrition is the lynchpin for physical well-being.

“A healthy body loses weight better than a sick one. Digestion is negatively affected by an unhealthy diet, and it can also promote the formation of inflammation in the body. Only when the body is healthy can it fully perform the function of burning fat,” says Reinlein.

Nevertheless, everyday movement should not be underestimated. Every step and every extra effort ensures that the calorie turnover increases. Consequently, if you burn a lot, you also need a higher calorie intake. Conversely, this means that you increase your calorie turnover through an increased amount of exercise and the combustion is boosted. If you then also save on calorie intake here, you will quickly lose weight. A good example of this is Bernd Stelter. According to him, he has only changed small habits, such as taking the stairs instead of the elevator or simply walking more every day. With success: Stelter has become a whole 25 kilos lighter!

Additional movement increases combustion

Ultimately, it is even true: Calories equal calories. But even if the body functions equally well on a diet of chips and cola as on a diet of vegetables and meat, you can’t compare it. This confirms that you can lose weight through an unhealthy diet, but that there is no guarantee that you will be healthier afterwards than before. If you also want to go one step further and lose weight as quickly as possible, you will still not be able to do with additional exercise. Nevertheless, the old rule applies here too: Patience makes perfect.

A guide to making your own paint. So you can produce colors yourself naturally, quickly, and cheaply. And that sustainably and without chemicals, with food from your own household!

Step by step to your own color: Producing natural colors is very easy and doesn’t take much time or money. You can store homemade food-based paints in the fridge for a few days and use them as you like during that time. The big advantage: They are naturally degradable and contain no chemical components.

1) What are colors made of?

Colors consist of three main components: pigments, binders, and solvents. Many substances that are suitable as basic components for DIY paint production can either be purchased cheaply in hardware stores (acrylic binder, white glue, etc.) or can be made in your own kitchen using simple household products.

2) Gain color pigments

Pigments can be obtained from food colors, which are available in pharmacies, or made from the food itself. You can see which food you use to achieve which color in the table below.

3) Egg as a binder – egg tempera

You can use egg tempera to bind your paint. For this, egg yolk, oil, and water are mixed together in the same ratio. The amount of oil and water can vary (less oil and more water can be used).

Any vegetable oil can be used as an oil. However, linseed oil is particularly suitable because it dries quickly. The color pigment is then worked into the mixture of egg and oil until the desired color is achieved.

To avoid lumps, small amounts of the pigments should be worked in one at a time. If the shade is too intense, the mixture can be diluted with water. Such paints from egg tempera are well suited for painting.

4) Flour as a binder

As an alternative to the egg as a binding agent, you can also use the top household remedy flour. To make such so-called paste paints, you have to heat 2 tablespoons of flour in a saucepan with 400 to 500 ml of water and bring it to a boil. Make sure to stir constantly to prevent lumps from forming. If there are any lumps, you can simply pour them off through a sieve.

Alternatively, you can add the flour directly to the colored juices. However, you have to mix this mixture very thoroughly. The more heat, the fewer lumps will form. The pigments can be incorporated into the mass once it has cooled. Again, water can be added to get lighter shades. Paints made with flour as a binder can be used well as finger paints.

5) Milk as a binder

Instead of flour and egg, you can also use dairy products as a binding agent. For such a color, which uses casein as a binder, a tablespoon of quark (alternatively milk or condensed milk) is mixed with pigments in the same ratio.

You can then stir a small amount of water into this mixture. You can then use water to correct the color tone you have achieved afterward. This color is suitable for painting walls and artistic painting.

6) Starch as a binder

To make cornstarch-based paints, cornstarch and baking powder are mixed together in equal amounts. Then twice as much vinegar is added. Then food colors or natural colorants (see table) are added. Such starch-based paints are particularly useful as water-based paints.

At a glance: This is how you can make colors yourself

To make your own paints, you’ll need things you probably already have at home. So it’s a perfect DIY that doesn’t even require you to leave the house and buy special materials. All paints consist of three elements – pigments, binders, and solvents.

You can always use water as a solvent. You can find the right home remedy as to a basis for the pigmentation of your desired colors in the table above. As a rule, different ingredients lead to the goal there, so there is a high chance that you have one of the foods you need for your favorite color at home.

You have four different classic baking ingredients to choose from as binding agents: egg, flour, milk, and cornstarch. This depends on the purpose for which you want to produce the paints. The egg is suitable for classic painting, flour for finger paints, milk for both classic painting and painting walls, and cornstarch for making watercolors.

Crunchy sprouts from alfalfa, lentils, radishes or mung beans are high-quality foods rich in vitamins and minerals. Especially in winter, when there are few seasonal fruits and vegetables, sprouts enrich our diet. You can easily grow sprouts yourself at home.

Light, air and water – that’s all sprouts need to thrive. Growing sprouts means: fresh greenery in the kitchen and on the plate all year round. The germinated sprouts not only impress with their easy handling, they also have a lot to offer: vegetable protein, vitamins, fiber and minerals make them a valuable companion, especially for vegan diets. We’ll show you how easy it is to grow sprouts at home.

pull sprouts: please soak

For growing sprouts at home you need a germination jar and a sprouts mixture, both of which can be bought in organic or health food shops and also in drugstores. The advantage of special sprouting jars with a sloping holder: Excess water can drain off and the sprouts are not standing in water.

Here’s how the Grow Sprouts project works: Place a tablespoon of seeds in a colander and rinse under water. Then fill the seeds in the sprouting jar and cover them with twice the amount of water. Depending on the seed mixture, soak the seeds for between one and eight hours and then pour off the water. You can usually find an exact indication of the soaking time on the seed packet.
Tip: Use the soaking water from the sprouts to water the flowers.

Grow sprouts: rinse and wait

At the end of the soaking time, sort out any non-soaked seeds and empty seed coats. Since these would not germinate, they could rot in the moist environment of the sprouting jar – not tasty and unhealthy.

Then put the swollen seeds back into the sprouting jar and screw the strainer onto it. Turn the glass upside down and lean it at an angle on a saucer. This means that excess water drains away and collects on the plate.

To grow the sprouts, rinse the glass with the sprouts two to three times a day with water (see also the instructions on the product packaging) and put them back on the saucer to drain. You can simply let the water run through the holey lid, then swirl it around in the glass a few times and pour it off again through the closed lid.

Draw sprouts: quick harvest

Depending on the variety, you can harvest fresh sprouts after just four days and use them to enrich your salad or sprinkle on breakfast bread, for example. Either you use the sprouts directly in salad or on bread after the end of the germination time, but you can keep them in the fridge for up to two days. However, it is best to use up the sprouts as soon as possible.

Incidentally, you can completely clean the sprouting jar in the dishwasher – and then start over and grow new sprouts.

Draw sprouts: pay attention to this

The consumption of sprouts from your own cultivation entails a certain health risk, because a humid environment at room temperature is a perfect breeding ground for mould. Therefore, be sure to pay attention to the following points in the “Drawing Sprouts” project:
Quality: Use organic seeds and only those that are specially designed for sprouting.
Don’t take too many seeds per grow cycle: one to two tablespoons is enough.
When growing sprouts, the room temperature should not be below 18 °C and not above 22 °C.
Rinse the sprouts with water several times a day, for example in the morning after getting up and then when you get home.
Do the sensory test: Do the sprouts smell musty? Do they look weird? If you are unsure about the quality, it is better to start the “Drawing Sprouts” project from the beginning.
Note: The fibrous roots sometimes develop a small white fuzz (especially on radishes and radishes) – do not confuse this with mould.
Clean the germination jar after each germination cycle and rinse it with hot water or put it in the dishwasher with the lid on.

Grow sprouts: blanch first, then enjoy

Growing sprouts is really not difficult and if you follow these rules when growing sprouts at home, you can regularly enjoy healthy and fresh sprouts. The German Society for Nutrition (DGE) advises risk groups such as people with a weakened immune system, small children, the elderly and pregnant women not to eat sprouts raw, but only after cooking or roasting them.

The Lower Saxony State Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety (LaVes) also advises all consumers to “absolutely blanch the sprouts”. In the case of some legumes, substances that are harmful to health are produced during germination, “which cannot be broken down at all or only partially,” informs LaVes. Blanching renders these substances harmless.

And this is how blanching works: Place the sprouts in a sieve and immerse the sieve in a pot of boiling water for half a minute. Then rinse the sprouts in cold water.

Grow sprouts: make your own seed jar

To grow sprouts, you can either buy the seed jar with the perforated lid – or you can make one yourself. Here’s how it works: Grab an empty screw-top jar with a plastic lid and drill small holes in it. You can also use screw caps with metal, but these rust quickly and this affects the quality of the sprouts.

And what about the classic cress? Unlike the “growing sprouts” project, you can simply grow cress on kitchen paper without a germination jar. For example, line a casserole dish with kitchen paper, moisten the paper and sprinkle the moist cress seeds over it. Wet the whole thing with water once a day and watch the little brown cress seeds sprout green. As with the sprouts, you will have “green offspring” after just a few days.

Tip: When it comes to kitchen paper, it’s best to use recycled kitchen paper and pay attention to the blue environmental angel.

Curry powder is very popular around the world and can be used in many ways – from Asian wok dishes to currywurst. We tell you what you need to know about the yellow powder.

Curry powder: ingredients and their effects

Curry powder is a mixture of up to 20 different spices. Depending on the composition, the powder varies in taste from sweet and mild to fiery and hot.

Some ingredients can be found in almost every curry powder. These ensure the unmistakable taste and can also offer a variety of health benefits:
Turmeric gives the powder its characteristic color. The tuber regulates digestion and also has anti-inflammatory and anti-carcinogenic effects.
Coriander has an antibiotic, anti-inflammatory and blood circulation-enhancing effect and prevents digestive problems such as flatulence and a feeling of fullness.
Cumin strengthens the immune system and supports digestion.
Cardamom contains essential oils that have a positive effect on the gastrointestinal tract and prevent flatulence.
Black pepper boosts fat burning. The contained piperine also has an antibacterial, antifungal and antioxidant effect.
Ginger also has an antibacterial effect and inhibits the multiplication of viruses. It can also contribute to a healthy intestinal flora and stimulates digestion.
Fenugreek naturally lowers blood sugar.
Chilli stimulates blood circulation and thus promotes digestion.
Mustard seeds support the activity of the excretory organs
Cloves help with a number of digestive problems, such as gastritis or constipation.
So you see: Many of the ingredients in the curry powder support digestion and also have an antibacterial effect. So it’s worth using the spices more often in the kitchen, not just for the taste.

The origin of curry powder

Contrary to what is often mistakenly assumed, curry powder does not come from India. The name derives from the Tamil word “kari”, which means sauce. However, the powder itself was invented by the English during the colonial period. The spice mixture should make it easier to give dishes the typical Indian taste.

In India itself, curry powder is unknown. In Indian cuisine, the spices are mainly used freshly ground. In addition, spice mixtures such as garam masala are used.

Curry herb has similarities in taste, but otherwise has nothing to do with the spice mixture that we are familiar with.

What you should consider when buying curry powder

Because of the different effects of the individual components, the following applies in principle to curry powder: the more colorful the spice mixture, the better.

However, especially in cheap versions from the supermarket, in addition to pesticide residues, there are often fillers such as:
Strength
sugar
Salt
dextrose
When buying, you should therefore pay attention to the composition of the curry powder and choose a mixture that does not contain these fillers and other additives such as preservatives. In general, we always advise you to use organic quality spices.

Storage: Once opened, curry powder loses its flavor quite quickly. We therefore recommend that you do not buy large quantities and that you store the spice in an airtight container, protected from light.

Alternatively, you can also make your own curry mixture yourself. Similar to curry paste, you simply grind the individual spices with a mortar just before you use them. This makes the mixture taste more intense and you can put it together to suit your taste.

With a detoxification cure you clean your body of substances that accumulate in the tissue. We’ll give you tips to make the cure a success.

With a detox you help your body to help itself. The metabolism is a finely tuned cycle that processes all usable substances from food. At the end of the chemical processes in the body, some “unusable” substances remain.

The detox cure acts like a regulator for the metabolic cycle in your body.
You regulate the intake: During the cure you mainly eat easily digestible meals. The predominantly vegetable food contains a lot of dietary fiber from the plant fibers. The energy metabolism gets less replenishment and works with the reserves in the body.
At the same time you regulate the transport: A detox cure includes sufficient exercise and liquid. This activates the body’s own transport system. It is now time to also take care of any residues of toxins in the tissue.

Purification cure: These are slag

According to the definition, “slag” are nitrogenous end products from the metabolism of the cells. The residues of proteins and fats consist of large molecules and do not fit through the fine pores of the bloodstream.

The body has a special drainage system for this “waste” in the tissue, the lymph. The substances reach the kidneys via the lymph nodes and from there into the urine. The lymph channels do not have their own “pump” like the bloodstream – they are only sucked in by the heartbeat. With a detoxification treatment you activate the lymphatic system and thus ensure that your body can excrete the waste quickly.

You are more likely to hear the term “metabolic product” for this process from a conventional doctor. Doctors are familiar with a number of diseases that are caused by too many or too few metabolic products, such as:
neurodermatitis
rheumatism
Gout: The Apotheken Umschau reports that uric acid can trigger gout attacks under certain conditions. Uric acid is a metabolite of purine found in meat and offal.
You can prevent it with a detox. The idea of ​​cleansing the body and thus preventing or treating illnesses has been handed down from many ancient healing methods. There are also detox diets in Indian Ayurveda or in traditional Chinese medicine. In Europe, too, the detoxification cure has historical predecessors – Hildegard von Bingen, for example, recommended fasting cures to strengthen the immune system.

Signs of too much waste in the body

As a rule, the body is well equipped to deal with the end products of metabolism and other “unusable” substances:
The liver and kidneys are mainly challenged, which flush out many of the pollutants in the tissue via the urinary tract.
The intestine takes over the leftovers that the body cannot digest or that cannot be dissolved in liquid.
The skin can also excrete incompatible substances.
These signs can give you an indication that your body is overwhelmed by unhealthy waste products from the metabolism:
Digestion doesn’t work properly.
The stomach hurts and is often bloated.
You often get headaches.
You catch cold or catch infections easily.
You are quickly tired and overwhelmed.
You have trouble concentrating and are restless.
You can’t sleep well.

Purification cure: These methods are also included

There is not just one detoxification cure, but different approaches, especially in alternative medicine. Some methods often have multiple names, but essentially boil down to the same thing.

A detoxification cure can mean a cleansing of the intestines, which in healing practice is the beginning of a cleansing of the intestines.
Even detox cures that you hear about in the media are actually purification cures. Only the English short name Detox sounds more interesting than the German translation “detoxification”.
In the same way, a detoxification cure can also mean a fasting cure or Kneipp cure.
What they all have in common is that you avoid harmful substances over a period of time. This gives the body time to break down the residue. The liver, kidneys and intestines can then regenerate again.

In order for the organs to be able to fully recover, non-medical practitioners expect about four weeks for the detoxification cure. If you want to take such a cure, you should discuss this with your doctor or naturopath beforehand.
With short cures you give the body a break to break down the unhealthy substances. For example, you can insert a “detox weekend”. You often feel lighter afterwards and have more strength for everyday life. However, there is not enough time for the cells in the organs to regenerate.

Detox cure: It works with this diet

Easily digestible foods are on the menu during the detoxification cure:
Lots of seasonal vegetables and fruit
Whole grains like rice, pasta, bulgur, or other whole grains
Still water and herbal tea
On the other hand, do without during the detoxification cure:
Meat and animal protein, including cheese, eggs and dairy products
coffee and black tea
Bread or pasta made from white flour
sweets and sugary foods
Always prepare your meals from fresh ingredients and avoid ready meals:
You gently cook the vegetables with steam – this preserves more vitamins. The dietary fibers from the plant fibers stimulate your intestines.
It takes the stomach longer to digest raw vegetables and lettuce. Therefore, you should no longer eat a salad in the evening. For example, you can prepare a vegetable soup for dinner.
Bitter substances support the liver in breaking down toxic substances. They are contained in many types of vegetables such as chicory or dandelion. You can steam dandelions like spinach or prepare them as a pesto with parsley.
With herbal tea you support your kidneys and liver:
Drink a pot of herbal tea a day (preferably organic)
With nettle, parsley, horsetail or goldenrod herbal teas, the kidneys can better flush out the waste products via the urinary tract.
Tea blends made from dandelion and milk thistle are good for the liver.

Detox cure: Sport is also part of it

But not only the diet is important during the detoxification cure, but also sufficient exercise.

If possible, move in the fresh air for at least half an hour a day. For example, you can also start with morning exercise or jogging.
Yoga exercises relieves the organs and promotes digestion.
You can also do this:
Apply a liver compress in the evening: Place a warm towel below your lower right rib cage over the liver. Wrap a dry towel over it, cover yourself with a warm blanket and lie down relaxed for half an hour.
In the morning you can get your circulation going with alternating showers and a brush massage. As a result, the waste products that have been deposited in the tissue can reach the liver and kidneys better.
Sauna sessions also make it easier for the body to remove toxins.

Detox cures: dubious products

Attention: “Slag” is often used as a collective term in everyday language, which not only means the metabolic products, but also toxins that burden the body, for example:
drug residues
Environmental toxins, such as pesticides or heavy metals that you ingest through food
Amalgam from old tooth fillings
alcohol or nicotine
Doctors take a critical view of this very general term for slags. A medical inquiry should therefore sift through the evidence from alternative medicine, but there have been no solid studies on it. Thus, the statements that detoxification cures can eliminate the toxins mentioned from the body are not proven.

You should also critically question detoxification cures that require you to buy special powders or other means. Many products suggest that you can cleanse your body of these toxins – but there is often no medical evidence for this.

This is how you can prevent slag

If you move a lot and are active, your blood circulates faster. As a result, the lymphatic system can also quickly remove waste products from the tissue.
If you eat a balanced diet with lots of vegetables and use vegetable oils, less slag is formed from the metabolism. The lymphatic system has no problem removing all residues.
In this way you remain naturally “purified” and an additional purification cure is therefore not necessary.

You often hear about the glycemic index in advertising and in nutritional guides. But what exactly does the value say about food and how is it calculated?

Glycemic Index: This is what it represents

The glycemic index (GI) indicates how a carbohydrate-containing food affects blood sugar levels. The value tells you how high your blood sugar would rise if you were to eat a slice of bread, for example.

The higher the glycemic index, the more the blood sugar level is raised by a food.

In principle apply
Values ​​above 70 as a high GI,
between 50 and 70 as medium high and
Scores less than 50 are considered low.

This is how the glycemic index is calculated

To calculate the value, the product is compared to the glycemic index of glucose. Our body can use this directly – it first has to break down other products into dextrose (glucose).

To calculate the glycemic index of a slice of bread, a test person must eat it. After that, your blood sugar level will be measured for two hours. The values ​​are transferred to a diagram – they result in a curve.

Now the value of the area below the slice of bread curve is divided by the value of the area below the glucose curve. This quotient is multiplied by 100 and finally gives the glycemic index.

Don’t worry: you don’t have to calculate the GI of a product yourself. You can find the GI values ​​for different foods in tables on the Internet. However, these are only average values ​​that you can use as a guide.

The importance of the glycemic index

When we ingest carbohydrates, they first enter the intestines. There they are broken down into molecules and transported into the blood. The hormone insulin now ensures that body cells can absorb the sugar from the blood. The higher your blood sugar level, the more insulin is released.

Some carbohydrate-rich foods (such as white flour products and sweets) can be broken down faster than others. This often applies to products with a high glycemic index. They are used up faster by the body, making you hungry again soon.

On the other hand, if you eat foods with a low GI (e.g. whole grains and legumes), you will stay full longer. Such a diet can also help you to prevent obesity. In order to stay physically fit, however, you also have to consider other factors – for example, you should exercise regularly.

GI: An unbalanced diet can have these effects

If we consume a lot of carbohydrate-rich products with a high GI, this can have serious consequences:
It can cause your blood sugar to rise permanently.
According to the German Society for Nutrition, your cholesterol levels can increase more easily. You also have an increased risk of developing diabetes mellitus.
Research has also found a link between high blood sugar levels in women and obesity and coronary artery disease (CAD).
In order to eat healthily, you should avoid products that contain sugar. It is best to consume carbohydrates in the form of whole grain products, fruit, vegetables and legumes. Eat a balanced diet and include healthy sources of fat and protein in every meal.

Glycemic index for diabetics

The glycemic index can also play an important role for diabetics. Diabetes is characterized by chronically elevated blood sugar levels. If affected people mainly consume foods with a low GI, this can stabilize blood sugar levels and alleviate typical complicators.

The diabetes guide from the Apothekenumschau recommends integrating wholemeal bread and pasta, legumes, vegetables and many dairy products into your diet. However, diabetics should not base their diet solely on the glycemic index. Because a meal consists of different ingredients, this makes it difficult to calculate the GI.

What Factors Affect the Glycemic Index?

The value of the glycemic index is influenced by various factors. These include, for example:
Percentage of fat, protein and fiber in the food: All these components ensure that your body absorbs carbohydrates more slowly. As a result, the blood sugar level usually rises more slowly.
Degree of processing: How a product is prepared, how much liquid it contains and how hot it is can also affect the glycemic index. In general, the less processed a product, the lower the GI.
Meal composition: Other foods that you eat at a meal also affect blood sugar levels.
Individual Variations: Also, GI is not a universal value—how quickly a body breaks down glucose can vary from person to person. Blood sugar levels can also fluctuate depending on the time of day.
How exactly a meal ultimately affects your blood sugar level cannot be precisely determined by any value. Therefore, the importance of the GI is still highly controversial among scientists.

The glycemic load

The glycemic load (GL) magnitude was introduced as a supplement to the glycemic index. The percentage of carbohydrates in a food also plays a role in their calculation.

The glycemic load should always be taken into account because:
Carrots and baguettes have the same GI of 70, so the carbohydrates they contain have the same effect on blood sugar levels. Nevertheless, you can eat significantly more carrots to consume the same amount of carbohydrates. 700 grams of carrots contain 50 grams of carbohydrates, while 104 grams of a baguette would be sufficient.

For the GL, the GI is multiplied by the carbohydrate density value:
According to this calculation, the GL of carrots is around 5, while for baguette it is almost 34. The GL is therefore better suited to comparing carbohydrate-rich foods and assessing their importance for blood sugar levels. Despite this, the GI is still more widespread in everyday life.