Archives for December 2015

December 30, 2015 By Parwage Alam 1 Comment

10 New Year workouts for 2016

Are you planning to have some great health-related New Year resolutions? Every Year we set some resolution for ourselves for the New Year and end up with no result because of inconsistency in fulfilling the tasks.

This year let’s set some realistic goals and give a blow to our hidden talents. We always think that we’ll start the New Year with some regular exercising but due to boredom we are unable to continue. So try new things so as to make your workouts interesting.

The easiest is to start with remembering some of those childhood games and activities that you liked and played the most. Try them out again for a change. If you cannot remember them here are some exercises which will help you to stick to your routine and you will also enjoy achieving your fitness levels.

Roller-skating: Roller-skating as an exercise provides a lot of health benefits. Skating offers an effective cardiovascular workout, endurance training and strength training to build strong muscles in the pelvis and legs. Balance and coordination can also be improved by regular skating.

Hula hooping: Hula hoop is when you rotate your hip round and round. I am sure everyone heir childhood would have attempted this at least once. As an exercise, I can say that hula hoop is a bona fide piece of workout equipment that can tone your thighs, abdominals, gluteals, and arms. You barely feel like you’re working out while doing Hula hoop.

Dancing: Whether you like to jump or jive, tap or tango, shake your belly or your booty, dancing is one of the most enjoyable ways to get some exercise. If you dance 30 min in a day you will enjoy your day and feel very fit without realizing that you have worked out. Also, there is no age limit for the dance, anyone can dance. Regular dancing is great for fitness, maintaining strong bones, improving posture and muscle strength, increasing balance and coordination, and beating stress.

To get more information about Dancing you can check another blog written by my colleague Shimpli Patil. Let’s dance… for a better health and a better you!!

http://goqii.com/blog/lets-dance-for-a-better-health-and-a-better-you/

Trampolining: Everyone likes to jump. So we can relate this exercise to the above mentioned dancing exercise. If you know how to jump, you know dancing. Jumping itself is a great exercise but if you are jumping on a hard floor, you might hurt your legs, knees, so the best option is to use Trampoline. Jump workouts on Trampoline are not only a quick way to tighten, tone and build core strength, you can also shred calories and boost cardio as effectively as going for a run — without the stress on your joints.
Water exercise: As a kid most of us enjoyed playing in the water, be it in bath tub at home or in the pool. Believe me that the water exercises is a great way to stay fit without hurting your body. Water workout burns tons of calories but feels like an easy play. To know more you can read from the following link:

One-Stop Shop Workout – Swimming:

http://goqii.com/blog/one-stop-shop-workout-swimming/

Cycling: I still remember that my school was approximately 8 kms away from my home and I use to travel by cycle to school every day. It was fun and the same time kept me healthy. Cycling is indeed one of the best ways to be fit. My favourite weekend activity has always been cycling and every time I would pick a new route and end up exploring the place. Cycling is the easiest way of exercise because you can ride a bicycle almost anywhere, at any time of the year, and without spending a fortune. Cycling builds strength, muscle tone, builds stamina, improves your cardiovascular fitness, improves heart health and reduces stress. This also improves the mental health.

Cycling is good for your coordination: Moving both feet around in circles while steering with both your hands and your body’s own weight is good practice for your coordination skills.

Skipping: How many of us remember our childhood, when we used to skip and even had challenges among ourselves to find out who could skip the fastest. Those memories of my childhood bring back a smile on my face. I used to enjoy those skipping moments. There were several games we could play with the skipping rope and it was one of the cheapest games that one could purchase. The best part of a skipping rope was that people of all ages could use it.

You can read more on skipping in my blog – Did you know how useful a ‘SKIPPING’ rope can be?

http://goqii.com/blog/did-you-know-how-useful-a-skipping-rope-can-be/

Running: As a child all of us have ran so much while playing but as we grow older all these activities somehow comes to a halt thereby forcing many to lead an unhealthy life. Nowadays running is becoming a very popular sport and a craze among many. This in turn has also led to the number of marathons being organized in a year. According to me one of your New Year resolutions could be to take up running seriously and become a runner.

Here is another blog written by my colleague Mitali on how to prepare for a marathon- Are you running the Marathon? Here is your guide to training:

http://goqii.com/blog/are-you-running-the-marathon-here-is-your-guide-to-training/

Outdoor Games:It’s always best to play outdoor games. If you remember most of us from our generation would remember their times of playing in the parks but sadly nowadays kids are seldom found playing outside and are found more busy with their X-Box, video games, Ipad etc, which lead them to the unhealthy lifestyle. I would suggest you start going to park or nearest ground to play outdoor games like cricket or Foot Ball, which will then encourage your kids also to play outside. For more information about Cricket and Foot Ball, you can read my following Blog – CRICKET and FOOT BALL—Your healthy path to fitness!:

http://goqii.com/blog/cricket-and-foot-ball-your-healthy-path-to-fitness/

Hiking: Hiking especially with friends: If you like to explore new places, try to go Hiking, it will help you not only to explore new places but, also increase your strength and stamina, because you have to walk on the mountain which really needs balancing. Also, while doing Hiking, you are increasing your physical and mental health, because it will give you stress relieve from your whole week work burden.

Once you have decided the resolution for your new year, try to check on it in every interval of 15 days and ask yourself one question – are you following your Resolution? If No – get back on track and then enjoy your healthy lifestyle.

December 21, 2015 By Urvashi Sareen 1 Comment

How foods play an important role in managing stress ?

Stress and nutrition have always been linked – it’s a fact that has been in existence for years. It’s no rocket science to realize that someone with a healthy and balanced diet is likely to be far less stressed than someone with a poor diet.

Stress has become a common factor in one’s life today and various factors lead to stress on a daily basis? It could be work pressure, home pressure, and lot many things add to stress. And, during times of stress, the one thing that most indulge in is bad eating.

We more often than not turn to traditional “comfort” foods such as macaroni and cheese, pizza, and ice cream. All these high-fat foods are usually the worst possible choices because they can make us feel lethargic and less able to deal with stress. To add to this, stress can drive up our blood pressure and raise serum cholesterol levels, wreaking havoc on our arteries and increasing risk of heart attacks.

Best solution? Low-fat, high-fiber, carbohydrate-rich meals with plenty of fruits and vegetables. They soothe us without sapping our energy and give us the nutrients we need to boost our immune system.

Here’s a guide to which foods reduce stress and which foods make it worse:

There are plenty of foods that are good for reducing stress:

Water – Hydrates, makes the individual more energetic and less stressful

Asparagaus-I know, these slender stalks are known to make your urine smell funny. But, they are high in folate which is essential for keeping your cool

Avacados-These creamy fruits stress proof your body. Rich in glutathione, a substance that specifically blocks intestinal absorption of certain fats that cause oxidative damage, avocados also contain lutein, beta-carotane, Vitamin E and more folate than any other fruit.

Berries – Blueberries have some of the highest levels of antioxidant known as anthocyanin and they have been linked to all kinds of positive health outcomes, including sharper cognition. But, all berries, including strawberries, raspberries and blackberries are rich in vitamin C which has been shown to be helpful in combating stress.

Chocolate – besides the healthy antioxidants in this treat which push chocolate to the top of most heart-healthy food lists, Chocolate also has an undeniable link to mood but, moderation is key to it.

Green tea – Green tea has an amino acid called theamine. This slimming food is a brain booster as well as enhances mental performance.

Oatmeal – a complex carbohydrate, Oatmeal causes your brain to produce serotonin, a feel-good chemical.

Fresh Fruits and vegetables- vegetables also have high fibre content, which is helpful in treating constipation-another long term effect of stress. Fresh fruits and vegetables provide an array of vitamins and minerals that are great for reducing stress.

Fish- Fish such as Mackerel contain Omega fatty acids, which are extremely good for the heart and can protect you from heart diseases. Fish also contains choline- a great memory booster.

Yoghurts- Yoghurts provide minerals including calcium, essential to maintain well functioning nerve impulses.

Herbal Products- Herbal items such as Dandelion, Chamomile, and Passion flower to name a few relaxes both the body and mind.

Having said the above, there are certain foods and drinks that can aggravate stress. It doesn’t necessarily mean that you should avoid some of them completely but, it is advised that you consume them in moderation.

Foods and drinks that can trigger and aggravate stress include:

Tea, coffee, cocoa, energy drinks- These drinks contain neuro-stimulators like caffeine and theo-bromine, which are proven to heighten stress.

Fast foods and takeaways- They contain high levels of protein, fats and carbohydrates that don’t contain vital minerals and vitamins, which in turn induce stress.

Butter, cheese, Meat – These are high saturated fats which have a negative impact on stress levels.

Sugar- stress causes an increase in blood glucose levels, which can in turn lead to a higher risk of developing diabetes.

Soda, Alcohol, soft drinks and chocolate drinks-The high levels of carbon dioxide/ sugars in beverages aggravate stress. Therefore soft drinks need to be considered as an unnecessary addition to your diet.

So before you go in to grab that cold aerated beverage or have a cheesy burger to relieve your stress…think twice and instead go for the healthier food option suggested above to get reduce your stress.

December 13, 2015 By Luke Coutinho Leave a Comment

Your Gut Health

You would have heard of the saying. ‘Almost all diseases begin in the gut’. Well it’s true and maintaining the right ‘microflora’ (balance of good bacteria) in the gut is crucial for great health, immunity and even, preventing, healing and recovery from serious diseases like cancer.

Your intestines (gut) contain pounds of good bacteria, whose job it is to help with the absorption of nutrients from the food you eat. The ‘good bacteria’ determines the strength of your immunity, regulates weight loss, recovery, healing, colon health, toxicity in the body and several other functions.

The gut also contains yeast (fungals) which if exceeds in numbers compared to the good bacteria, causes serious digestive issues, affects assimilation of nutrients, and can cause leaky gut, vaginal rashes, IBS and several other bowel and GI tract disorders. It is extremely important that the proportion of good bacteria is maintained at all times, especially in children.

A shortage of these bacteria can also be the leading cause of allergies, skin problems, headaches, migraines, in ability to lose weight and even contribute towards piling on fat. Energy levels of the person fall when there is an imbalance.

Everything we eat and drink passes through the gut along the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. It seems simple enough, but the tube like GI tract, lined with a thin, sticky mucous, is embedded with millions of bacteria that live, grow, and metabolize (digesting and absorbing) in what’s considered a complex ecosystem comprised of both beneficial and harmful bacteria.

I would say maintaining gut health is one of the most important and least looked into things. Many lifestyles that we adopt deplete the gut of the ‘ good’ bacteria’ and that’s where all health problems begin, something as small as acne to something as deadly as cancer.

If you have more bad bacteria (fungus) than good bacteria in your gut, even the healthy food you eat will not be assimilated the right way. Whether you choose to eat clean, organic or expensive foods, it does not matter if your gut microflora is out of balance.

That’s where probiotics come in.

Probiotic bacteria do several things that contribute to good health and immunity.
Their most basic function is to fight harmful foreign substances that enter the body by detoxifying them and easing their elimination. Probiotics can prevent the growth of harmful bacteria, which thrive and grow within a neutral pH environment, by producing organic acids such as acetic and lactic acids that, in turn, lower the pH of the large intestine.

This lower pH also prevents the metabolism of cholesterol and bile acids in the colon. Since cholesterol and bile metabolites act as cancer-causing agents, they can play an important role in the prevention of cancers of the GI tract and other organs as well. These helpful bacteria can even lower serum cholesterol levels along with cardiovascular disease risk by preventing the activity of an enzyme involved in the synthesis of cholesterol.

Inside the gut are about 100 trillion live microorganisms that promote normal GI ( gastro intestinal tracts) function, protect the body from infection, and regulate metabolism and the mucosal immune system. In fact, they comprise more than 75% of the immune system.

Also important is their role in maintaining and protecting the GI barrier. An intact GI barrier maintains gut health, while a problem with its microbiota composition will affect the body’s defense systems and can create a condition known as leaky gut syndrome, which can compromise gut health and lead to diseases such as inflammatory breast cancer, obesity, chronic fatigue syndrome, and depression.

Your diet is the most important element when it comes to building gut health and I cannot emphasise how important it is to do this.

Make sure your diet contain curds or take a probiotic supplement if you are vegan or cannot have yogurt. Here are some top natural probiotic rich foods

Yogurt ( plain kind)
Miso
Sauekraut
Kimchi
Kefir
Kombucha tea
Pickled gherkins
Spirulina
Chlorella

Your diet should be rich in complex carbs, fiber, fruits, vegetables, omega – 3 and you should have a healthy water intake and low intake of sugar, processed foods and red meat.

Sodas, processed foods and sugar quickly depletes the gut of good bacteria, dropping immunity almost instantly, making it the worst thing your child or you can consume.
I constantly tell parents that giving your child aerated drinks is worse than drugs.

December 13, 2015 By Parwage Alam 2 Comments

The Best Post-Run Recovery Foods

All athletes plan their routine, in terms of their exercise, nutrition; practice sessions all of this is done to get the best results from his/her body. While you might get the expected results with your performance but, that certainly does not mean that your body is also getting the expected nutrition. In fact, some of the best athletes and more recently we have come across cases of regular marathon runners fainting or blacking out during the run or after the run. This situation occurs due to nutrition imbalance in body.

To be healthy we have to take care of our meals throughout the day. Similarly, we have to take care of our post run meals as well to recover our body. By eating the right foods at right times your body will recover and be able to perform the way you want it to. So if you are a runner or planning to run you need to be aware of what exactly you should be eating before, during and after your running events. This is important so that you are able to keep your body in optimal condition.

So let’s understand more about this.

Some basics before your run: If you are planning to jog no longer than 40 or 50 minutes at a relaxed pace, a glass of water might be all that’s needed ahead of time—provided you have had a decent dinner the night before. But, if the previous night’s meal wasn’t filling or if you ate it early, downing some orange juice or a banana will replace glycogen stores in your muscles to wave off sluggishness. If you’re heading out in the afternoon, have a snack with about 50 grams of carbs in it—like yogurt and a granola bar—an hour or two before hand
Post run, our body requires lot of different nutrition, so let’s divide into different category – PROTEIN, CARBS, ELECTROLYTES AND ANTIOXIDANTS.

Protein: Protein is the best resource to repair your body. It repairs muscle damage, diminishes the effects of cortisol—the so-called “stress” hormone that breaks down muscle—and, when taken with carbohydrates it speeds your body’s ability to replenish its glycogen stores, your all-important energy source for those long runs during marathon season. So post run your Protein ratio should be 1:4 which means 1 gram of protein for every 4 gram of CARBS
Carbs: Carbohydrates or carbs as is known commonly are body’s main fuel source, and are stored as glycogen in the muscles and liver, so eating carbs shortly after your workout helps optimize your body’s recovery. And it is during this time that your muscles are most receptive to rebuilding your glycogen reserves.
Electrolytes and Antioxidants: Electrolytes are minerals in our blood and other body fluids like Calcium, Chloride, Magnesium, Phosphorous, Potassium, Sodium, etc that carry an electric charge. It also affects the percentage of water in our body, the acidity of our blood (pH), our muscle functionality, and other important processes. While running, we sweat a lot and we lose electrolytes when we sweat. So we really have to replace our sweat by drinking fluids that contain electrolytes.

The techniques we can use

The fastest recovery techniques post training is rehydration, glycogen resynthesis and protein and antioxidant supplementation. These techniques replenish our muscle fuel supplies, hasten the repair of muscle damage and combat free radical formation in our cells.

Having said all of the above now it’s time for me to provide you with some resources for the post recovery foods that can help to replenish your body with the vital nutrients discussed above.

At first you start restoring the fluids in the body after your long run – the quick fixes for this are sports drink, lemon water or some plain water. However, the recovery process does not stop here so we have some specific foods that can help you to restore your body in recovery.

Salmon
Cherries
Kale
Oatmeal
Greek yogurt
Banana
Skim Milk
Chicken
Hummus
Green Tea
Tomatoes
Lean beef
Turkey breast
Sports/Energy bar
Whole-Wheat Pasta
Berries
Fruit Juice
Low-fat cottage cheese
Eggs
Almonds or other nuts
Vegetables

Its recommended to have your post run meal within an hour or so, but incase if it is not possible then you can go for the following options, which will help you to sustain for some time:

Have an apple which will give you some energy and raise your glucose level to sustain.
Protein bars, Protein shake with the combination of milk or water, whatever is convenient for you.
Banana is really good option to get quick energy.
Have Bread with some peanut butter.
My Favorite – Chocolate Milkshake.
Hummus and carrots
Some Greek yogurt.

As we love running and it’s a part of our lifestyle, routine and our health journey, so we really need to take care of the hard impact of it on our body. To continue our journey with running and healthy lifestyle we need to give appropriate rest and relaxation after every run and make sure that our body recovers completely after a every rigorous workout/running.