Archives for July 2018

July 12, 2018 By Luke Coutinho 17 Comments

Suffering from Lower back pain? could be lack of calcium and D3

Lower back pain?

Degeneration of the spine?

Lumbar disc problems?

Joint pain?

Body aches?

The common solution for all of the above problems is to pop a calcium or D3 supplement. It’s true though, a deficiency of these vitamins can cause all of the above, but there are many ways of looking at this.

You can be popping the best brand of supplements, but remember, it just does not work that way. For Calcium to get absorbed into the bones, your D3 levels have to be adequate. If it’s not, your calcium supplement is being wasted, so are the foods rich in calcium that you are consuming.

Furthermore, Vitamin K is such an ignored vitamin. You should know that Vitamin K is needed for the bones to absorb Calcium. Vitamin K is found in dairy products and green leafy veggies.

Here’s how it works – For strong and healthy bones, joints and a super strong spine, you need sufficient calcium, D3 and Vitamin K for it to work effectively. I should add in B12 as B12 is necessary for healthy bone marrow and for the body and spine to grow stung and healthy.

Calcium, Vitamin K, Vitamin B12 and Vitamin D3

A balanced diet should give you all of the above. Apart from nutrition, there are few other tips

– Regular and smart exercise.
– Stretching, warm up and cooldowns.
– Knowing your tight muscles and working on flexibility.
– DO NOT SIT IN ONE PLACE FOR MORE THAN 30-45 MINUTES-This is too much strain and stress on your lower back/sacrum and it leads to lower back, sciatica and lower body aches and pains.

Look for nutrition in fresh and real foods. Supplement only if you have to and if you have a deficiency. The choice of preventing or healing yourself from pains is up to you and how you want to deal with it. But, make sure you keep up with nutrition, exercise, rest and have a positive attitude.

July 11, 2018 By Trupti Hingad 2 Comments

11 Top Testosterone boosting foods for men

Have you been working out hard in the gym with no results? Have you wondered what could be the reason? We are all aware that workout does a lot of good to our body. A regular workout does everything from increasing your odds of living longer to supporting your memory function and for men, a good workout can also boost your testosterone.

While testosterone is the primary sex hormone in men, it is also responsible for everything from muscle development to hair growth to mood regulation to sex drive. So yeah, it’s pretty important when it comes to your health and well-being.

But, at times despite the work out the testosterone levels could be low and hence the desired results from the workout is not visible. But, there is nothing to worry. One can increase their testosterone levels naturally by eating the right foods.

Here is a list of testosterone boosting foods

Brazil Nuts: This tree nut is an excellent natural source of the mineral selenium and a great testosterone booster. The high selenium content is mainly responsible for Brazil nuts positive benefit on T levels. Brazil nuts also have a good ratio of fats. These nuts contain zinc, amino acid Arginine and fatty acids which are needed to make hormone testosterone. Arginine is a precursor to nitric oxide, important for vasodilatation and known to increasing testicular blood flow for better hormone production. Brazil nuts are packed with the most bio-active form of Arginine. Just have 3-6nuts per day and boost your T levels.
Beans: Are rich source of fibre, protein and zinc. Beans pack a bigger shot of zinc than any other member of the veg family. Add it to a food that’s high in protein and fibre\ and low in fat, and you have a winning combo. You can opt for baked beans, lima beans, navy beans, and kidney beans –All are good choices.
Eggs: Testosterone is synthesized from cholesterol, and as such, food containing cholesterol is a good source of building blocks for testosterone. Start your day with three or four eggs or egg whites cooked in olive oil coconut oil. You can also opt for boiled eggs too.
Cruciferous Veggies: Elevated oestrogens levels lead to fat accumulation and can interfere with muscle growth. Broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage may help a man’s body excrete excess oestrogens and increase the amount of testosterone available to cells. Indole-3-carbinol, a compound found in cruciferous vegetables, may increase the excretion of estradiol (one oestrogen hormone) thus increasing the testosterone production. Since these veggies are rich in fibre..it also helps you to keep full and thus helps in fat loss too.

5 Garlic: Garlic is an active ingredient, allicin, enhances testosterone levels and inhibits cortisol, a hormone that competes with testosterone by limiting its actions and breaking down muscle tissue. Season some foods with garlic, but eating crushed garlic cloves provides the most direct benefit.

6 Oyster: Oyster is loaded with Protein, magnesium, lots of zinc. Along with increasing physical endurance, oysters pack more zinc than almost any other food source. Just six oysters give you almost seven times the recommended daily allowance of zinc, and zinc plays a key role in muscle growth and testosterone levels.
Eat a serving of oysters once a week — raw or cooked but not fried.

Pumpkin seeds: They are good source of zinc -a mineral that plays a role in thousands of different enzymatic reactions in the body, including those involved in testosterone production. Sprinkle more testosterone-boosting pumpkin seeds into your diet by adding them to oatmeal, yogurt, and salads, and even add them into your protein shakes.
Coconut: Coconut can not only help your diet taste like a tropical meal, it can also keep your T-score at healthy levels. That’s because the giant nut is a source of saturated fat, which plays a role in testosterone production. A healthy person can take up to 8-10 percent of their calories from saturated fat to help keep testosterone at its peak without any major concern over increasing your risk of heart issues.

9 Wheat Bran: Who would have thought that brown wheat bran could help peak up your T-levels? But the fibre-rich bran of the wheat kernel is an excellent source of the mineral magnesium. One study found that magnesium was more effective at boosting testosterone if paired with high-intensity exercise. Add wheat bran to your flour or oatmeal, pancake batter, and protein shakes.

10 Pomegranate: This beautiful red fruit has been used medicinally for centuries. With high levels of antioxidants, vitamins A, C, E and iron, researchers have found one glass of pomegranate juice/one fruit a day can increase testosterone levels between 16 percent and 30 percent, can improve mood and increase libido too.

11. Whey protein- or ricotta cheese: This is high in protein and low in fat.-This not only fix your protein dose but also helps in increasing testosterone production restricting body’s production of cortisol hormone. So Have it as post workout meal or grab as mid snack.

So, stack these foods if you haven’t already and enhance your workout and overall physical health!

July 10, 2018 By Vrushali Athavle 4 Comments

SWEET POTATO – Best workout meal

You must have heard of protein shakes and eggs as good work out meals. But, have you heard of Sweet Potatoes as a workout meal?

Well, the Sweet potato is a large, starchy, sweet tasting tuberous root vegetable which is usually consumed by people only during fast. But, apart from having it as a fasting food, the other best time to consume sweet potato is either before or after your regular ‘moderate to intense’ workouts.

Referring to my previous blog on “Pre and Post Workout meals” (https://goqii.com/blog/pre-and-post-workout-meals-is-it-important/) where I mentioned the importance of having carbohydrates before your workout to keep you energetic throughout the exercise regime and post workout to replenish the depleted stores and to help the recovery process faster, SWEET POTATO is one of the best choices. One should have approximately 100 gms of boiled sweet potatoes.

How does it work?

Sweet potatoes have natural sugar and complex carbohydrates which are slowly released into the bloodstream, helping to ensure a balanced and regular source of energy without sudden blood sugar spikes. When you consume them before a workout, it gives you a slow and steady form of energy and hence keep’s you energetic throughout the workout. Post workout sweet Potatoes help to replenish the glycogen stores which are lost during the workout.

Also, there are lots of water-soluble nutrients and electrolytes which are lost during your workouts. To replenish them, SWEET POTATO is the best choice once again. It is a treasure trove of vitamins and minerals. Let us have a look at all of them:

Magnesium: It is called a relaxation and anti-stress mineral. This clearly says that grab on the sweet potato to relieve stress (mental or physical).

Potassium: Helps in relaxing muscle contractions, reducing swellings and controlling kidney activities.

Vitamin B 6: Helps maintain healthy brain and normal nerve function. It also helps in forming red blood cell.

Vitamin C (powerful healer): This vitamin not only helps to ward off cold and flu viruses but also plays a crucial role in bone and tooth formation, digestion and blood cell formation. Helps wound healing, produces collagen which helps maintain skin’s elasticity thus keeping you young and beautiful.

Vitamin A (a powerful antioxidant): Keep’s your eyesight perfect and keeps your immune system boosted to fight against any diseases.

Vitamin D: It is crucial to maintaining your overall health as it is critical for the immune system. It plays an important role in keeping our energy levels boosted, controls mood swings and helps to build healthy bones, heart, nerves, skin and teeth and also it supports the thyroid gland to function effectively.

Iron: Necessary for red and white blood cell production

Apart from using it as the best workout food, sweet potato serves as a great choice for people who are trying to lose weight. Isn’t that great? Let’s look into it.

Sweet potato is high on fibre. Fibre is bulky and hence will occupy a lot of space in your stomach making you feel full for a long period of time, thus preventing one from overeating. i.e. You won’t feel hungry for a long time.
Sweet potato has high water content so just like fibre; water takes up a lot of room in your stomach making you feel full and will prevent overeating and snacking between meals. This will help both in your weight loss goals and will also help you prevent the weight from coming back on.
Lastly, it is low on calories, so people keeping a watch on calories can just go for it.

To conclude, include sweet potatoes in your routine and not only during the fast as it is one of the best workout meals and also helps with weight loss. If sweet potato is eaten along with its skin, which is an excellent source of insoluble fibre, it may prevent constipation and diverticulitis. It also contains soluble fibre which may help control cholesterol.

July 9, 2018 By Jyoti Sawant 7 Comments

Confused about eating healthy? Follow these 13 Strategies to eat healthy

Healthy eating is not about strict dietary limitations, staying unrealistically thin, or depriving yourself of the foods you love. Rather, it’s about feeling great, having more energy, and stabilizing your mood. There are loads of information and dietary advice floating out there where if an expert tells you that certain food is good for you, you’ll find another one saying exactly the opposite thus confusing you totally. But, let me give you some simple tips by which you can cut through the confusion and learn how to create a tasty, varied, and healthy food habit at work.

A healthy diet is good but, a key foundation for any healthy diet is moderation. What is moderation? In essence, it means eating only as much food as your body needs. You should feel satisfied at the end of a meal and not stuffed. Moderation is also about a balance of carbohydrates, protein, fat, fibre, vitamins, and minerals to sustain a healthy body.

Simplify: Measure portion size and do not be concerned about counting calories. Think of your healthy meal in terms of colour, variety, and freshness. This way it should be easier to make a healthy choice. Focus on finding foods you love and easy recipes that incorporate a few fresh ingredients. Gradually, your food will become healthier and more delicious.
Start slow and make changes to your eating habits over time. Trying to make your food healthy overnight isn’t realistic or smart. Changing everything at once usually leads to cheating or giving up on your new eating plan. Make small steps, like adding a salad (full of different colour vegetables) to your daily routine once a day or switching from peanut butter to olive oil when cooking. As this small change becomes a habit, you can continue to add more healthy choices to your lifestyle.
Every change you make matters. You don’t have to be perfect and you don’t have to completely eliminate the foods you enjoy in order to have a healthy diet. Your long-term goal should be to feel good, have more energy, and reduce the risk of lifestyle diseases. Don’t let your missteps derail you—every healthy food choice you make counts.
Think Smaller Portions. Serving sizes have ballooned recently, particularly in restaurants. When dining out, choose a starter instead of an entire plate, split a dish with a friend, and don’t order supersized anything. At home, use smaller plates, think about serving sizes in realistic terms, and start small. In case you are not satisfied at the end of the meal try adding more leafy green vegetables or rounding off the meal with some fresh salad. Visual cues can help with portion sizes–your serving of Egg, fish, or chicken should be the size of a deck of cards and half a cup of mashed potato, rice, or pasta is about the size of the small bowl.
Take time to chew your food and enjoy mealtimes. Chew your food slowly, savouring every bite. We tend to rush through our meals thereby forgetting to actually taste the flavours and feel the texture of our food. Reconnect with the joy of eating.
Listen to your body. Ask yourself if you are really hungry, or have a glass of water to see if you are thirsty or hungry. During a meal, stop eating before you feel full. It actually takes a few minutes for your brain to tell your body that it has had enough food, so eat slowly.
Eat breakfast, and eat smaller meals throughout the day. A healthy breakfast can jumpstart your metabolism, and eating small, healthy meals throughout the day (rather than the standard three large meals) keeps your energy up and your metabolism going.
Avoid eating at night. Try to eat dinner earlier in the day and then fast for 10-12 hours until breakfast the next morning. These simple dietary adjustments such as eating only when you’re most active and giving your digestive system a long break each day will only help to regulate your weight. After-dinner snacks tend to be high in fat and calories, but some healthy options like mixed vegetable soup, salad, and buttermilk is good.
Most of us consume too much salt in our diets. Eating too much salt can cause high blood pressure and lead to other health problems. Try to limit sodium intake to 1,500 to 2,300 mg per day which is equivalent to one teaspoon of salt.
Avoid processed or pre-packaged foods. Processed foods like canned soups or frozen dinners contain hidden sodium that quickly surpasses the recommended limit.
Be careful when eating out. Most restaurant and fast food meals are loaded with sodium. Some offer lower-sodium choices or you can ask for your meal to be made without salt. Most gravy and sauces are loaded with salt, so ask for it to be served on the side. Opt for fresh or frozen vegetables instead of canned vegetables. Cut back on salty snacks such as potato chips, and nuts. Check labels and choose low-salt or reduced-sodium products, including breakfast cereals.
Slowly reduce the salt in your diet to give your taste buds some time to adjust.
Go high on Fibre – In general, the more natural and unprocessed the food, the higher it is in fibre. Good sources of fibre include whole grains, wheat cereals, barley, oatmeal, beans, nuts, vegetables such as carrots, celery, and tomatoes, and fruits such as apples, berries, citrus fruits, and pears—all the more reason to add more fruit and vegetables to your diet. There is no fibre in meat, dairy, or sugar. Refined or “white” foods, such as white bread, white rice, and pastries, have had all or most of their fibre removed. An easy way to add more fibre to your diet is to start your day with a whole grain cereal, such as Fibre-One or All-Bran, or by adding unprocessed wheat bran to your favourite cereal.