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Archives for July 2014

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Sitting Job leads to a shorter life

sitting
You might have often heard people say “Sitting is Killing Me”. This phrase seems to be spoken lot more these days thanks to the busy schedules that people have. I believe that 75% of working people are in desk jobs which require them to be seated on their chair for at least 8 to 10 hours a day of not more. No wonder that most of these corporate employees complaint of lot of pain issues including one of sitting pain due to sitting all day long.

A sitting job is as dangerous as smoking can be for your body. Most sit at their work stations and have no other activity apart from staring into their computers. On an average 10 hours a day is spent at the work desk as compared to 7 hours of sleeping. Sitting is so prevalent and so pervasive that we don’t even question how much we’re doing it.

Excessive sitting, defined as nine to 10 hours a day, has been called a lethal activity. Dry eyes? (“Your eyes are not designed to keep focusing and moving repetitively across a computer screen,”) Weight gain? (Sitting job mostly stressful and when you are stressed out, your body is flooded with Cortisol, a stress hormone, which makes you crave for carbohydrates, sugar and fatty foods). You might not realize this being parked at a desk but, all this goes into your body.

A sitting Job leads you towards a shorter life. Sitting down the whole day doubles diabetes and heart attacks risk. Some research shows difference in health outcomes between the most and least sedentary workers. Those who spent the most time sitting down had a greater risk of diabetes. Risk of cardiovascular problems such as heart attacks or strokes increased in the most sedentary workers.

You should get to know how uninterrupted sitting hours can be dangerous for your health:-

  • Working long hours in a similar sitting position affects the blood circulation of body
  • Increased risk of having diabetes and heart diseases
  • Causes eye strain
  • Causes tiredness in the back and neck muscles
  • Reduces efficiency of heart and lungs
  • Leads to back and joint pains
  • Responsible for digestive problems

Few suggestions to keep you active at workplace:-

  • Take small breaks.
  • Avoid the elevator, use stairs.
  • Go for a short walk during the lunch hour
  • Rinse your eyes with water
  • Move neck forward or backward
  • Change body positions frequently
  • Make correct adjustment of chair (height, tilt etc.)
  • Carry out some simple exercises
  • Sit in a comfortable position

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Do you know your Body Type?

body-type
I have always come across people who think that any diet can be used to lose weight/maintain weight/gain weight, which is not the case. There are different body types according to which a diet is made; of course individual health history is also important. In fact even gym workouts are based on this different body types..

The Three Body Types are:

  • Ectomorph

People with this body type are very thin in structure. They have small shoulders and light build.  Their metabolism is way too high thus; they find it hard to gain weight. In fact the metabolism is so high that the body burns fat for sure but even uses muscle as a source of energy, thus making them look so thin. These are people who despite eating a lot do not gain weight. Their tendency to lose weight is more than gaining.

Triats of Ectomorph

  • Small Shoulder
  • Thin Body Frame
  • Under weight/skinny appearance
  • Long limbs
  • Fast metabolism thus very low fat
  • Hard to gain muscles.

MESOMORPH

The most athletic body is this one, where in they have large body structure. They gain muscle and lose fat very easily. This body type has positives such as low body fat like ectomorph and large frame like endomorph. This is the kind of body everyone usually dreams of. But, again if not maintained well it’s no use having such a body type

Traits of a Mesomorph

  • Shoulders are wide
  • Easily gain muscle
  • Lean body
  • Has less body fat
  • Small waist.
  • Large frame.

 ENDOMORPH

This body type is the one which has more fat. People with this body type have short limbs and gain weight very easily. Appear large in size. They find it hard to lose weight in spite of working on their diet and workout.

Traits of Endomorph

  • Broad Shoulders
  • Appear large
  • Gain fat easily
  • Metabolism is slow
  • Short limbs.

Every body type has its own advantage and disadvantages. According to an individual’s health goal, we work towards it.

It is not necessary for a person to be of any one specific body type only. There is even a combination of the above body types like Endo-Mesomorph or Ecto-Mesomorph.

With the above information, you can figure out your own body type easily. But, it is not necessary that Endomorph cannot become a Mesomorph, With dedication, efforts and hard work anything is possible.

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Let’s dance… for a better health and a better you!!

women-exercise
How many of us look at dance as a form of exercise?

For me the word “Dance” itself has so much of energy and power that it sets my pulse rate in motion. Dance is something that I have been doing since my childhood. Being a child, I used to dance just for fun and enjoyment… little did I know about the positive changes that it was creating within me.

Dance has several benefits not only in terms of our physical health but also for our emotional and mental health.

The best thing about dancing is that there is absolutely NO AGE LIMIT for it! It’s something that can be taken up early in life and still provide plenty of entertainment well after retirement.  It’s the perfect example of “joyful workout”. While, we’re having fun grooving to music and meeting new people, we’re getting all the health benefits of a good workout.

Dance by large is an aerobic workout that speeds up your heart rate and keeps it up for an extended period of time. It also involves some movements which are typically anaerobic in nature. We nearly use every muscle in our body to perform certain moves, holds, lifts, squats, spins, jumps or leaps. In fact, we build and tone our muscles while dancing, making them stronger with each session.

A good warm up for about 10 minutes is very essential before starting the dance to get into the groove. Once you get into regular dancing, it ensures increase in flexibility and agility as it involves stretching, bending and twisting.

Dance has innumerable benefits. No doubt it’s the best way to lose weight (provided the diet is correct)  but it’s also been shown to be beneficial for heart health, blood pressure management,  reduction of total blood cholesterol, especially LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol) and increase in levels of HDL (good cholesterol).

I have been looking at dance not only as a way to get better in terms of physical health but mental health as well. It’s one of the best ways to release stress and get your endorphin levels (feel good factor) up! Dance also helps you release all kinds of emotions. May it be happiness, sadness, anger, frustration, boredom…it all gets expressed while you dance. It’s a creative outlet as well wherein you can create your own new moves and choose a variety of music.

So let’s get active!! Put on your dancing shoes, turn the music on and dance. You may not have the best turns or neatest moves, but as long as you feel the rhythm, you’re a good dancer. And I assure you that you’ll never get bored with this workout as there is so much to explore in dance and try out new forms or steps. Of course, it’s way better than jogging on the same old treadmill every day.

Dance on, burn the calories and say good bye to a gloomy/lazy day!

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7 preventive measures to avoid Diarrhea during Monsoons

monsoon-eating
Come Monsoons and our happiness see no bounds. There are lots of activities that one can indulge in during the monsoons such as walking in the rain, running, cycling and trekking. All of these activities give us extreme happiness. Monsoons also entice you and increase your cravings for some street food such as bhajiya, vada pav, bhel, pani puri, chat and the likes. Few days back, I went for a trek in the Shaydari ranges of Maharashtra. After the trek I gorged on some tasty piping hot Bhajias and Vada Pav. The next day however, I got diarrhea and suffered for the next few days. It was all thanks to the bhajias and the vada pav.
During monsoons, food and water are the two main things that get contaminated easily. This eventually leads to water borne diseases as monsoons is the time for germs and bacteria to breed in large numbers. We need to be extra careful for ourselves and for our children as well.

Preventive measures to be taken during Monsoons

1. Drink boiled water.

2. Wash your hands before you eat.

3. Avoid outside food and go for homemade hygenic food.

4. If you are eating in a restaurant avoid leafy vegetables. One is not sure if it’s cleaned properly or not ?

5. Eat well cleaned and washed vegetables.. Avoid left over food

6. Do not eat fish as it is breeding time and there are chances that you might get a stomach upset or an infection.

7. Do take shower if you get wet to protect from bacteria.

As our body is susceptible to infections taking precaution is good …however if you

do get diarrhea. Here are few things you must follow

1. Boil water and drink throughout day as diarrhea dehydrates body.

2. Do not have solid food. Have clear liquid diet initially.

3. In case of less severe diarrhea cooked rice, curd can be included which can be incorporated gradually after liquid diet.

4. Drink lots of warm herbal teas, especially with antibacterial properties such as basil leaves, ginger, pepper and honey.

5. Digestion process is slow during monsoon because of the humidity in atmosphere so eat moderately only when you are hungry.

6. Include antioxident rich food (green tea,fresh fruits,nuts ) to fight against infection.

To sum it up

Be healthy to enjoy the monsoon thoroughly ..

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