50 SIMPLE HEALTH TIPS - Part Four (31 - 40)

31.  Watch Your Carbs

Trying to reduce belly fat? Pay attention to your carbohydrate intake and avoid artificial sweeteners. Sugary snacks and other refined carbs spike blood sugar and cause pounds to settle in your midsection. Choose whole grains, beans, and vegetables instead.

32.  Use Calendula Products

To ease acne, forgo benzoyl peroxide for lotion or soap made from calendula flowers, which may have antiseptic effects.

33.  Cayenne Pepper

To warm up cold feet, sprinkle a bit of cayenne pepper into your socks. This folk remedy may help warm your toes by increasing circulation and improving blood flow.

34.  Use Licorice

Treat canker sores, painful spots on the inside of the mouth, with deglycyrrhizinated licorice (DGL), which appears to soothe mucous membranes. Buy in powder form and mix with a little water to make a paste; apply it to the sore as needed.

35.  Call a Friend

Keeping your social networks alive and well may help benefit your ticker over the long term. Social support has been linked to a lower risk of heart disease, and people who do have heart attacks fare better if they are socially connected.

36.  Drink Cranberry Juice

Cranberries contain a substance that appears to keep bacteria from sticking to the walls of the urinary tract and has been shown to help prevent UTIs. Because cranberry cocktail is high in sugar, drink unsweetened juice diluted with water or take capsules of powdered cranberry extract.

37.  Swab Your Soles

Are you tired of having stinky feet? Kill odor-causing bacteria quickly by soaking a cotton ball with rubbing alcohol and wiping your soles as needed.

38.  Drink Mint Tea

Ease occasional indigestion by sipping a cup of peppermint tea after your meal. Peppermint improves the flow of bile, which moves food through the digestive tract more quickly. Use peppermint with caution if you have acid reflux; it can make that problem worse.

39.  Get Your Daily D

Get your vitamin D level checked with a simple blood test. D is at least as important as calcium for strong bones, and most people don't get enough. Get a minimum of 1,000 IU a day through supplements and food.

40.  Try a Tongue Scraper

To combat bad breath, consider investing in this inexpensive plastic or metal device to remove bacteria from the back of your tongue. Some studies suggest that adding tongue scraping to your regimen may be slightly more effective at eliminating breath odor than just brushing your teeth.