Archives for October 2014

October 29, 2014 By SANA SHAIKH 4 Comments

Five Foods that help to Lower Blood pressure

Blood Pressure (BP) has now become a common ailment. Be it young or old almost everyone has BP issues. Infact, BP issues among young adults is on the rise thanks to the lifestyle that most lead! Some have low blood pressure and some high blood pressure issues.

High blood pressure is often considered harmful as it tends to have a negative effect on the heart and may increase the risk of stroke. It’s difficult to manage those BP pills to ensure maintenance of the pressure once diagnosed with elevated pressure levels.

A healthy change in lifestyle may prove beneficial in lowering the pressure levels as well as in maintaining them. Eating right is important during lifestyle modification and when managing pressure levels. This further may help in maintaining or reducing or even curbing the dosage of medicines!

Here are five foods that will help you lower your pressure levels:

Bananas: These are a rich source of potassium, cheap and available throughout the year. Have them as a on- the- go- snack. The potassium helps to curb the imbalance of electrolytes during high pressure.

Low fat or Skim Milk: The combination of Vitamin D and Calcium not only helps in reducing the pressure levels but also maintain the bone health. A glass a day is all what you need!

Whole Grain: Kick start your day with whole grain cereals as they not only provide you with nutrients and fibre that help in maintaining consistent energy levels but also lower the pressure levels.

Beet Juice: A glass of beetroot juice is proven to reduce pressure levels within few hours according to research. The nitrate present in it is known to lower the levels.

Dark chocolate: It is high in compounds that cause dilation of blood vessels i.e. flavonoids thus lowering the pressure. One small square piece is what one needs!

**Tip: Along with this lower the intake of salt and processed/packaged foods, exercise regularly and achieve a healthy stress free lifestyle!!

October 20, 2014 By Mohammed Tufail Qureshi 1 Comment

How important are Micro-Nutrients to stay fit?

Macro-Nutrients have always been given importance for health and athletic performance but, somewhere the micro-nutrients are completely left out.

“Vitamins and Minerals”, as the name comes from a Latin word “Vita” meaning life and “amine” as the biochemist called Casimir Funk(1884-1967) who learnt about them thought that they contained amino acids, hence the word “amine”.

“Minerals” are substances that are found naturally within the earth’s crust. Vitamins and minerals are the micro-nutrients, as they are measured in milligrams or micrograms. Vitamins are called “essentials” as the body cannot produce them, they have to be consumed through our food or through the dietary supplements to get them adequately. Vitamin and minerals play a very important role in metabolism of carbohydrates and fats which are used as fuel by the muscles. They are also involved in repair and building of muscles after a training session.

For everyone who trains hard in the gym,the energy metabolism and protein synthesis is absolutely important, these functions are driven by the “metabolic enzymes”. Metabolic enzymes are substances that carry out loads of functions in the body for reproduction and replenishment of the cells. Pancreas are the primary organs that produce and release these metabolic enzymes. These enzymes are also responsible for flushing out toxins from the body and also producing energy from the nutrients that we consume.

One of major causes of wrinkles, bone loss and illness in elderly people is the inability of the pancreas to produce these metabolic enzymes due to ageing.

These metabolic enzymes require coenzymes which will initiate and aid in the function of enzymes. The B vitamins serve as the coenzymes that helps in conversion of food into fuel and energy production.

The various B complex vitamins like the Thaimin (B1) and Niacin(B3) not only help in conversion of nutrients into energy but, Niacin also helps in manufacturing hormones and regulate the cholesterol.

Riboflavin (B2) and Panthothenic acid (B5) helps in production of energy and producing red blood cells in the body. Pyroxidine (B6) is specially important for those, crazy for muscle building and body building as this vitamins helps in protein building and strengthens the immune system.

Biotin (B7), Folic acid (B9) and Cobalamin (B12) again help in conversion of nutrients into energy. Cobalamin helps in keeping the red blood cells healthy thus enhancing their ability to carry oxygen to the cells.

Important to note Biotin (B7) deficiency is generally found in people who consume raw eggs, the egg whites contain a protein called the avidin which binds with Biotin and stops its absorbtion, cooking the eggs deactivates the avidin .As well as, consuming raw eggs is risky as it results in serious health problems like diarrhea and vomiting due to presence of a bacteria called the Salmonella. So all those “Rocky Balboa” fans, need to watch out before gulping a pitcher full of raw eggs.

Vitamin A,C and E are of equal importance for a exercising indiviual. Exercise leads to development of Reactive Oxygen Species(ROS) or commonly known as the free radicals. ROS is a phrase used for free radicals produced by molecular oxygen. The production of oxygen based radicals (ROS) is harmful for all the aerobic species. These oxygen based radicals develop even during normal aerobic respiration. But, while exercising, the demand for oxygen is increased for the cells, specially during endurance training and during the EPOC(excess post exercise oxygen consumption) which is post weight training. These ROS cause cell damage, drop in immune system, bone loss and muscle loss resulting to a drop in performance. Some amount of Vitamin C and E is already there in the tissues, which is transfered into the bloodstream to handle minor stress while aerobic respiration. Having said that while exercising the stress increases tremendously as the demand for oxygen is very high, hence there is depletion of Vitamin C and E. These should then be immediately supplied through dietary supplements in adequate quantity. Vitamin A plays a crucial role not only as a antioxidant but also to improve vision.

Any physical activity depletes these vitamins and minerals, and the need for these vital nutrients increases. They have to be supplied through dietary supplements to achieve optimal performance in the workouts and to stay fit.

October 17, 2014 By RITA PEREIRA D’SOUZA 1 Comment

Eat Right at School

Every parent has a nightmare in planning what should they give their child in his or her Tiffin box so that their child gets healthy and adequate nutrition. Similarly, the child thinks how yummy his or her Tiffin is going to be today.

As a mother of a 2yr old, I am too concerned about how my child could eat the right type of food at school. But, being from the field of nutrition the knowledge gained has empowered me and I would like to share this knowledge with all of you so that you can plan and healthy and balanced meals for your children.

We as parents need to instil in our children healthy and good eating habits right from the start. Looking at the current scenario kids eating habits are poor and they spend lot of time indoors playing on computers and watching TV thus increasing their sedentary time which in turn increases the incidence of childhood obesity in school going kids.

We all know that kids during their growing years require eating adequately nutritious food for their overall development. Lack of any nutrient can cause deficiency and stunted growth. Also considering that high level of concentration is needed to be maintained at school in order to grasp what is taught, kids need to be fed well and this is not only in terms of quantity but quality too.

3 meals which the child eats at school can be considered as

Breakfast
Snack
Lunch

As we all know breakfast is the most important meal of the day – but you will find many kids skip this meal. Kids who tend to skip breakfast happen to have low concentration levels in class. They also lack energy for physical activity and they tend to eat lot of junk available within the campus or outside.

Eating breakfast every day we will only build a stronger immune system and these good habits are carried through in life. It also helps in keeping the weight in check in kids. Breakfast also boosts body metabolism, the process by which the body converts food to energy. It also provides power to the brain therefore as parents it is very important to decide what exactly kids need to choose for their breakfast. Foods chosen for breakfast should be rich in whole grains, fiber and protein while low in added refined sugar which will increase the attention span and will boost the kid’s memory helping them grasping more knowledge.

Many a time kids skip breakfast due to reasons such as no time, tired, wanting to sleep little extra, no availability of quick readily available breakfast at home. Therefore, it is important as parents that we need to be well organised, and plan ahead for the next meal so that you don’t need to be rushing doing the same in the morning.

Examples of healthy quick fixes for kid’s breakfast are various Dosas like carrot/beetroot, small and cute coin Dosa, yummy chapatti roll stuffed with veg, idli upma, fruit smoothies, sandwiches, milk, and yoghurt

We need to prepare innovative, colourful breakfast which helps in engaging the little tummies. Another important aspect is that parents should be a role model to their child. Breakfast should be made a family affair where in all family members eat together. So if parents have a healthy balanced breakfast at the start of the day, kids too will follow you in forming this good habit.

Another hurdle why kids skip this meal is that they do not have appetite for morning breakfast so parents need to pack a healthy morning snack like sandwich, fruit bread, whole wheat or multigrain biscuits or dried foods etc.

Next we come to lunch which many kids eat at school. Lunch re-energizes our body several hours after eating our breakfast. Also many kids tend to skip their breakfast so their lunch becomes all the more important meal as it helps the child remain active for the entire day and also carry out after school activities. Lunch should be a combination of proteins and carbohydrates like chicken salad wraps, veg noodles, whole wheat pasta etc

Another aspect about eating right at school is that school canteens should have healthy menus approved by kids. The canteens should be monitored for hygiene and food quality and taste. Oily and fatty foods should be not sold in campuses. Salads should be part of the menus.

Finally, kids need to know what they are eating and therefore it is important to have nutritional healthy eating as a part of the core curriculum through which kids can develop their taste buds and understand the importance of balanced and healthy meals on the go

October 15, 2014 By Parwage Alam 13 Comments

THE BEST WAYS TO TREAT A MINOR SPORTS INJURY

In my childhood I have often had minor injuries while playing sometime or the other. And, getting hurt was just natural while playing a sport or otherwise with friends. My mother used to come up with home remedies in some cases where the injury was not too big. Mother’s remedies also helped my injuries to heal and recover quickly.

Now, I am a professional physical trainer and have studied and gained professional knowledge about how to treat minor sport injuries. Treatments for a sports injury depends on how severe the injury is and which part of the body is affected.

If your injury does not require medical treatment /Minor Sports injuries – for example, a mild sprain or strain – you can treat it at home using PRICE therapy.

PRICE stands for protection, rest, ice, compression, and elevation.

Protection – protect the affected area from further injury – for example, by using a support.

Rest: Rest is vital to protect the injured muscle, tendon, ligament or other tissue from further injury. If injured, stop playing and protect the injured part from further damage. Avoid putting weight on the injured part, get help moving to a safe area off the field. Resting the injured part is important to promote effective healing.

Ice – Cold will reduce pain and swelling. Apply an ice or cold pack right away to provide short-term pain relief and also limits swelling by reducing blood flow to the injured area. When icing injuries, never apply ice directly to the skin (unless it is moving as in ice massage) and apply the ice or cold pack for 10 to 20 minutes, 3 or more times a day. After 48 to 72 hours, longer exposure can damage your skin and even result in frostbite.

Compression – Compression refers to the application of pressure to keep the swelling down. Compression helps limit and reduce swelling, which may delay healing. Some people also experience pain relief from compression. An easy way to compress the area of the injury is to wrap an ACE bandage around the swollen part. If you feel throbbing, or if the wrap just feels too tight, remove the bandage and re-wrap the area so the bandage is a little looser.

Elevation – Elevating an injury help control swelling. For example, if you injure an ankle, try lying on your bed with your foot propped on one or two pillows.

After 48 hours of PRICE therapy, stop compression and try moving the injured area. If, after this time, your symptoms are worse, visit your doctor. PRICE therapy can be useful for any sports injury, but some injuries may require additional treatment.

Once the healing process has begun, light massage may reduce the formation of scar tissue, and improve tissue healing.

Gentle stretching can be begun after all swelling has subsided. Try to work the entire range of motion of the injured joint or muscle, but be extremely careful not to force a stretch, or you risk re-injury to the area. Keep in mind that a stretch should never cause pain.