Archives for May 2014

May 13, 2014 By Vrushali Athavle 7 Comments

Pre and post workout meals: Is it Important?

I was sitting in my office when I heard some loud noises coming from outside. It seemed like two men were having a heated argument. Curiously I stepped out to find out what was wrong. It was a customer who seemed to be very disappointed. Despite being regular to the gym and following the workouts as told by his trainer, he was not getting the desired results of weight loss leave alone a good physique. The receptionist was trying to explain to him, to take nutrition consultation but he was like “I eat very less, so diet should not be a problem”. Ain’t we all are own doctors and nutritionist and we really do not need the right consultation.

Looking at the never ending argument I went up to him personally to talk to him and tried to understand his problem. Through the conversation and after taking down his detailed history, I arrived at the conclusion that he is very passionate about workouts and hence manages to do it even when he is traveling. But his diet was miserable. I explained to him that diet and exercise go hand in hand. In fact, diet contributes 70% and exercise 30% to achieve the desired results. But 70% diet doest mean, you have to eat less, it means right meal, at right time, in right proportion. Hence, it is very necessary to look into your pre and post workout meals. He was taken aback at what I was saying and asked me to explain what are these pre and post workout meals?

I started with the importance of pre workout meals. The way your car requires fuel to run, the same way our body also requires fuel in the form of food to perform better during workouts. The same analogy applies. Pre workout meals should usually be a combination of complex carbohydrates and simple carbohydrates for slow and steady release of energy throughout your workout. Along with carbohydrates adding a small amount of protein helps to decrease the exercise induced muscle loss. Now when you exercise, blood flow is diverted away from your digestive system to your muscles. Hence one should avoid meals which take time to digest like meals high in fats and fiber. Ideally one should eat about 2 to 3 hours before the workout to give time for your system to move the food out of the stomach and begin digestion and absorption.

Some of the examples for pre workout meals can be whole wheat toast with banana and low fat yogurt and fruit smoothies with some granola bar or any traditional Indian meal.

At this point I was interrupted saying “This seems interesting, but what when I go for early morning workout. I do not feel like eating so much”.

For early morning workouts, your glycogen (stored carbohydrates) and blood sugar levels are low. The time between your last meal at night and early morning, tends to be between 10 to 12 hours. During this overnight fast, your glycogen stores slowly decline, because it is being used up to keep various bodily functions going while you sleep. So for early morning workouts, eating a small amount of rapidly digestible carbohydrate like any seasonal fruit would be the best choice.

Ohhh great so I can have a banana before workout.

Yes banana can be a perfect option as it is rich in potassium, which drops down when you sweat a lot during workouts.

Are post workout meals also as important to consider as pre workout meals? Was his second query.

Yes absolutely. Immediately after workout our muscle cells develop high insulin sensitivity, which means that 30 to 45 minutes post workout our body gets a window of opportunity to absorb nutrients into our muscle cells and recover them faster. Thus, one should have such a meal which leads to increase in insulin levels to arrest muscle breakdown, increase the speed of glycogen re-synthesis, increase both the size and strength of muscles tissue, increase blood flow to the muscles which improves both nutrient delivery as well as removal of waste like carbon dioxide, lactic acid from muscle and bring downs the cortisol level, helping the body to maintain its immune functions as well.

Post workout meal should comprise of

Water to quench the thirst and to come out of the post workout dehydration.
Easily digestible carbohydrates like banana or potato to replenish your glycogen stores and your blood sugar level without disrupting the blood flow much to the worked out muscles and to spare the muscle/protein to be used as a source of energy.
First class proteins like chicken, fish, eggs, paneer, whey protein shakes, which will provide the body with all the required amino acids to carry out its repair work and arrest further tissue damage.
Antioxidants to help the body recover from free radicals that are generated during exercise.
Bottom line is to be aware and understand the importance of diet along with exercise and to start following a proper exercise regime with proper pre and post workout meals.

May 5, 2014 By Vrushali Athavle 3 Comments

Ways to improve sleep

How many of us sleep well at night or rather get a good undisturbed sleep. I was kind of horrified when I realized that my younger sister was readying herself to go to a doctor, thinking she is facing some dreadful sleep disorders. I asked in astonishment what made her think so. She told me that she is experiencing disturbed sleep with frequent awakening and sometimes she stays awake in bed at night for a long time, frequently checking the clock. This affects her whole next day as she feels tired and exhausted.

In today’s hectic and busy life, disturbed sleep is a common issue. I told there was no need to panic, instead make certain lifestyle changes. 90% of the time, the issue gets resolved without actually requiring doctor’s advice.

In this blog I have tried to list down as many possibilities, I could see which when modified in to our routine can give you a good night’s sleep. Based on your lifestyle and routine you can start working on it and see the difference.

For better understanding, I have categorized “Ways to improve sleep” into 3 major categories

1) Foods to eat and avoid

2) Relaxation techniques

3) Sleep environment

Foods to eat and foods to avoid

Avoid having stimulants like tea & coffee, smoking, drinking alcohol too close to bedtime. While alcohol is known to speed up the onset of sleep, it disrupts the sleep in the later part causing frequent waking up.
Pay attention to what you eat. Avoid spicy foods, especially at night. Don’t go to bed hungry or stuffed as it may cause discomfort and might keep you awake.
Also limit drinking too much water before bed, to prevent disruptive middle-of-the-nights trips to toilet.
Include carbohydrate and calcium rich foods like wheat, rice, pasta, milk and cheese, as they promote the release of serotonin, which is a sleep inducing hormone.
Green leafy vegetables especially lettuce have opium related substances which acts as a natural sleep aid.
Twitches and cramps can keep you awake during the night. You can have magnesium rich food sources like sunflower seeds, almonds and cashews to relax your muscles and hence get a good sleep.

Relaxation techniques

A relaxing exercise like yoga can be done before bed to help initiate a restful sleep. If you are planning a vigorous workout then it has to be complete 2 to 3 hours before going to sleep. A heavy workout will make it difficult for you to go to sleep, causing muscle soreness.
5 to 10 minutes of meditation with deep breathing can help you decrease your stress, relax your mind & body and help you get a sound sleep.
Getting indulged in some activities which make you happy like listening to music, reading a book, planning for the next day’s work, spending quality time with family or any of your hobbies puts off your whole days stress, relaxing your mind and hence getting a good night’s sleep.
Taking a warm bath just before going to sleep, also induces a good sleep because the sudden rise and then fall of body temperature makes you feel drowsy.
Try to avoid emotionally upsetting conversations or thoughts which may give you stress and affect your sleep. Instead you should try this one which works for me. I just write down all my stress causing thoughts on a paper and tear off the paper.
Do not turn on any electronic devices televisions, mobiles or tablets because the blue spectrum light emitted from such objects is known to impede sleep.

Sleep environment

Noise: Abrupt, loud noises from inside or outside the home like someone talking in the other room, noise of television or barking of a dog, traffic can upset sleep. Steady and low sounds such as the whir of a fan or air conditioner, can be soothing because they help block the distracting noises. One can also put up heavier curtains on your windows, replace windows with double or triple paned glass or invest in some ear plugs to listen these disturbing noises.
Mattress and Pillows: Make sure your mattress and pillow meets your needs for both comfort and support.
Light: Light is one of the body’s most powerful time cues. The rising sun can wake up the brain long before the alarm goes off. A dark room is the most conducive for sleep – day or night.
Temperature: The ideal bedroom temperature is 60 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit (16 to 18 degrees Celsius). A room that’s too warm or too cool can disrupt comfortable sleep.

To conclude, I asked my sister does she really need a doctor. She can be her own doctor. What she needs to do is to maintain a diary and keep a track of her lifestyle activities and use this blog as a checklist. This way she can find solution for her own sleep problem and so can all. But if the sleeping issues continue then it calls for doctor’s intervention.

Photo Credit: healgrowtransform.com.au

May 2, 2014 By Mitali Ambekar 3 Comments

THE KING SIZED MEAL-BREAKFAST

Have you ever woken up in the morning and felt extremely hungry? So hungry that you could eat a horse? Well I have felt it many a times and I am sure many out there also feel it. The reason for the same is because for at least 8 hours after our last meat which is dinner our stomach has been empty and is craving for some food to rejuvenate.

Hence it is said never skip your breakfast. Breakfast, the first meal of the day is the most important meal and for a good reason. If you are trying to achieve or maintain a healthy weight, consider the following reasons to eat breakfast each and every morning. There are lots of benefits of eating a king sized Breakfast.

One of the main reasons why one should not skip breakfast is when we wake up, our body is at its peak calorie burning phase. Despite, the fact that we have eaten good dinner the previous night, our body still burn the calories. To replenish those calories and the low glucose levels one needs to eat a meal. It’s called BREAK-FAST because you are breaking the long fast of the entire night.

BENEFITS of a Good Breakfast:

Your breakfast gives you that dash of energy to kick start your day be it at home or at office. It revs up your metabolism and keeps you healthy and energetic all day. A good breakfast prevents you from snacking or binging in between before lunch. A god breakfast can also keep you slim.

Now you would be wondering how will that KING SIZED MEAL help u be healthy, energetic and most of all slim? Well, it all revolves around your body metabolicrate. When you don’t eat breakfast in the morning, your body thinks that it needs to conserve the energy it has because it isn’t getting any more through nutrition. This actually slows your metabolism rate to go down and your body goes into a starvation mode, which results in an accumulation of fat in your body and decrease in the amount of calories you burn all day long. Accumulation of Fat in the body in turn leads to BAD (LDL, Triglyceride)- cholesterol levels in your body and that belly fat and love handles.

While these are important technical explanations for why you must have a good breakfast first thing in the morning, the other most important aspect of eating breakfast is that it will keep your spirits up throughout the day for a number of reasons. First and foremost, since you are not starved after a nutritious meal in the morning, you tend to be happy and stay that way. It also provides plenty of needed energy to help you get through the regular tasks of your day, which can help keep your mood bright and optimistic. A healthy meal in the morning can also help to regulate your blood sugar levels through lunch time, which plays a vital role in your mood.

Overall, eating something for breakfast is better than eating nothing at all. The more balanced your meal is, the better off you will be.

May 1, 2014 By Satish Kurapaty Leave a Comment

Gluten Fear: Understand and then Decide!!

How many of us know what Gluten is before fearing it? Then I would ask the second question why does everyone fear Gluten? Or is it just the latest weight loss fad because celebrities’ are going gluten free so let’s go gluten free!

This protein found in wheat, barley, rye and some oats is considered dangerous for health issues such as headaches, poor immune system, weight gain and even behavioral problems among children.

For the longest time doctors believed individuals who have celiac disease (a disease where the lining of the small intestine is damaged and prevents it from absorbing parts of food that are essential for the body) require a gluten-free diet for health reasons. Ingestion of gluten in these individuals causes an adverse reaction which damages intestinal cells and can lead to potentially serious health problems.

A gluten-free diet requires these naturally occurring proteins in grains and any foods or ingredients derived from them to be removed or omitted. This includes the obvious breads, pastas and baked goods made with gluten-containing flours, but may also include foods with more obscure presence of gluten such as sauces, salad dressings, soups and other processed foods.

The gluten-free diet is sometimes promoted as a way to lose weight or simply a “healthier” diet for the general population. However, these claims are unfounded. The gluten-free diet is healthier for people with gluten-related disorders, but there is no evidence that it is beneficial for people who do not have these conditions, according to gluten.net.

In the last couple of years gluten intolerance has increased across the world. ‘Gluten Free Diet’ has become very common. Restaurants have a section in their menu card that offers gluten free food items. The fear of Gluten has set in so much that people have started to consider gluten as one of their worst enemies. Anything that contains gluten is considered as an unhealthy diet choice. Unfortunately, most are following ‘the one size fits all’ concept without understanding what or how exactly Gluten contributes to one’s body.

Gluten may not have a particular nutritional quality in itself but, the grains containing it certainly do. Gluten in any grain actually work as a glue to help the dough to become elastic or to help the dough rise well. Cutting down on gluten is not a good idea because of the same.

Imagine a day without bread, sauces or even salad dressings? Apart from naturally secreted gluten many packed products contain added gluten to achieve thicker texture. So unless you have celiac disease or gluten intolerance do not avoid gluten. Avoid it if you tend to throw up after you have eaten bread, or experience diarrhea after eating a cake then you need to pay attention and get checked for Gluten allergy.

Observing you’re eating habits and your body reactions will help you detect gluten allergy in its early stages, preventing you from worst conditions, such as intestinal cancer.

How to recognize signs of gluten allergy

Irritable feeling after the meal, or difficulty in concentrating post meal
Ambiguous types of headaches ranging from migraine to regular headache starting within 30 minutes of consuming meal.
Often people with gluten intolerance develop joint pains and/or tingling sensation in their hands and legs.
Observed less energy levels post meal, many describe meals as ‘tiring’ experience.
Development of rashes, blotches, eczema etc.
Many symptoms related to poor digestive health may occur

The observed symptoms may occur due to any other diseases, it is strongly recommended to go to the doctor to conform whether they indicate towards celiac disease or gluten allergies. If left untreated these two health conditions can have disastrous long term effect on health.

Gluten allergies and celiac disease can be easily detected by blood test. But once you detect the disease it’s very important to act on it. Your first action has to be to cut down on all gluten products from your meal for at least 2 to 3 weeks. Watch out! There are few cosmetic products contain gluten too. If you are diagnosed with gluten allergy or with celiac disease, ingredient lists on product label is now your new best friend! Read before you eat, read before you apply anything to your skin. Gluten allergy may improve over the course of time but sadly in most individuals the gluten intolerance sustains throughout.