Archives for September 2019

September 30, 2019 By Dr. Viral Thakkar Leave a Comment

Your Heart and You 2: Habits for a Healthy Heart

Aakash wondered why every Hollywood and Bollywood movie stressed on the “heart”. Some dialogues bothered him:

“My heart aches at the way you have treated your friends.”

“Don’t you feel anything? Are you heartless?”

What Affects Heart Health?

It is interesting to note that a heart attack is usually the result of an emotional outburst or a very emotionally charged situation. While, many of us have similar experiences, some are potent to handle such sudden shocks which the heart receives. This depends on the emotional and mental health of a person, dietary habits, sleep quality, the capability of handling stress, faulty habits, etc.

The heart apart from pumping blood and ensuring every cell receives blood and oxygen, governs largely the emotional and physical wellbeing of a person (it also overlaps Anahat or Hridaya chakra in Indian Vedic understanding). So, a healthy heart depends largely on the emotional and mental well-being of a person as well as nutrition.

It is now a known fact that feelings of stress, anxiety, etc. adversely impact the overall health of a person, especially the heart. As stress increases, the cortisol levels (stress hormone) impacts all the hormones and organs, all the basic physiology including cardiovascular system.

These emotions create a chain reaction in the body — stress hormone levels increase, blood vessels constrict, blood pressure rises, and the immune system is weakened. If we consistently experience these emotions, it can put a strain on the heart and other organs, and eventually lead to serious health problems.

In my previous blog I spoke about the signs of heart disease to watch out for. Here, let us look at healthy habits for a healthy heart!

Do the Following to Ensure a Healthy Heart

Be happy: If you cannot feel positive and good, simply recall a time when you felt sincere appreciation and try to recreate that feeling. Look at photographs of happier times, keep a diary where you record your positive events and feelings from your life.
Exercise: Get regular with yoga, especially pranayama and exercise. Exercising helps heart muscles become more efficient at pumping blood throughout the body. It allows body’s tissue (including the heart) do a better job of pulling oxygen from the blood. This allows your heart to work effectively under stress. It also helps the body make more branches and connections between these blood vessels (collaterals), so there are other routes for the blood to travel if the usual path is blocked by narrow arteries or fatty deposits. Instead of a 45 minutes workout, it is best that the body is moving every half an hour! A small 2 mins walk every half an hour is also helpful as along with cardiovascular system it also keeps our lymphatic active. However, if you have a heart condition, please take the advice of your doctor before taking strenuous exercises or pranayama.
Do what you like doing and stop what you don’t! It will help you keep your stress levels in check and be happy!
Take care of what you eat: Have a good portion of breakfast, followed by small meals, lunch and dinner 2-4 hours before you sleep. Follow the advice of your nutritionist/doctor, if something special has been designed for you!
Vegetarian food is easily digested by the body. It will also help you cut back on higher calorie foods such as meat, cheese and snack foods. Whole grains play a role in regulating blood pressure and heart health. Add flaxseeds to your diet as they are rich in fiber and omega-3 fatty acids.
Limit unhealthy choices: Reduce or stop refined oils, refined sugar and aerated drinks.
Choose low-fat protein sources like flaxseed, walnuts, soybeans and canola oil. Legumes, beans, peas and lentils are good sources of protein and contain less fat and no cholesterol, making them good substitutes for meat.
Reduce the sodium in your food: You can replace your normal salt with rock salt or pink salt.
Quality is better than quantity: If your body feels fresh and charged after 4-5 hours of sleep, it implies quality sleep. But tiredness even after 6-8 hours of sleep is worrisome. Usually deep breathing before sleep, dinner 4 hours prior to sleep helps one sleep better.

Heart is the biggest miracle which works every moment to keep you alive! Cherish it by living healthy. In my next blog, I will share yoga asanas you can perform for a healthy heart.

#BeTheForce

September 29, 2019 By Dr. Viral Thakkar Leave a Comment

Your Heart and You: Signs of Heart Disease to Watch Out For

Mishita, 55 years, was feeling low and depressed for quite a few months. Since the past 2 days, she began feeling slight restlessness, palpitations, and a suffocating feeling followed by mild chest pain radiating to her left shoulder. Since she was alone, she called her daughter to express these symptoms. Her daughter immediately called their neighbour. As her neighbour had basic knowledge about heart symptoms and heart disease, she was saved from a major heart attack but early signs of arteriosclerosis were detected. She started following lifestyle changes and now is happy, healthy and almost off medicine!

How & When Does Heart Disease Develop?

Heart disease mostly develops over a period of time due to an unhealthy lifestyle. One may have early signs or symptoms long before a serious heart problem. In my practice, I have seen that the body, including the heart, will give several signs, before it deteriorates. It’s up to you how much you listen to your body.

Heart disease describes a range of conditions that affect the heart. It could be a disease related to blood vessels such as coronary artery disease, especially arteriosclerosis (lumen of arteries supplying blood to the heart is reduced in size and finally get occluded, leading to myocardial infarction) or arrhythmias (irregular rhythm of heartbeats which is due to an issue in the current flow of heart circuit) or one could be born with a heart disease as well – congenital heart defects, among others. There are 2 dimensions which affect heart, physiological constitution and emotional constitution of an individual.

Psychoneuroimmunology has proven that a person who is sad, depressed, unhealthy and unhappy will be at risk of a heart attack, or shall I say, a number of diseases. Emotional, mental and physical wellbeing are the keys to lead a good life.

Signs To Watch Out For

I will be discussing some common symptoms of a heart attack since the number of people suffering from the same is increasing. One should immediately take medical advice if you have any of the following symptoms, at any age:

Chest Pain: Discomfort or pain in the chest area which may include left, center or sometimes even the right side which may also radiate towards the left shoulder, left upper back, jaw or sometimes even chin area. There are many causes of chest pain that have nothing to do with the heart but it is still the most common symptom of poor blood flow to the heart cells due to any cardiac ailment which leads to a heart attack ( Myocardial infarction).
At times it is like a crushing pain, while others feel only mild discomfort.
It might feel heavy or like someone was squeezing the heart. One may also feel a sharp, burning sensation in the chest or epigastric area
At times, the pain under the breastbone (sternum), or on the neck, arms, stomach, jaw, or upper back may be the only symptom, which one should not ignore.
Chest pain from angina often occurs during or post-activity or sudden emotional experience and goes away with rest or a medicine called nitroglycerin.
Bad indigestion can also cause chest pain but that does not amount to heart trouble! However, any symptoms you experience is the body’s language of communication, so ignore none.

Certain other features could be extreme anxiety, fainting or loss of consciousness, lightheadedness or dizziness, nausea or vomiting, palpitations (feeling like the heart is beating too fast or irregularly), shortness of breath, profuse sweating, which may be very heavy.

In case of other comorbidities like diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, etc. one might experience fatigue, shortness of breath, general weakness, or change in skin colour.

Symptoms Which Need Cardiac Attention

Shortness of Breath: When the heart can’t pump blood as well as it should, blood backs up in the veins that go from the lungs to the heart. Fluid leaks into the lungs and causes shortness of breath. This is a symptom of heart failure. One may notice shortness of breath during activity, while resting or when lying flat on the back – it might wake you up from sleep.
Continuous coughing or wheezing could be a sign that the fluid is building up in the lungs. One may also cough up mucus that is pink or bloody.
Swelling in the Legs, Ankles, or Feet: because the blood flow slows and backs up in the veins in the legs. This causes fluid to build up in the tissues. One may also experience swelling in the stomach or notice some weight gain. This is mostly seen in congestive cardiac failure.
Narrowed Blood Vessels could mean a higher risk of a heart attack & can occur when cholesterol and other fatty material (plaque) builds upon the walls of the arteries. It is also the cause of hypertension.
Fatigue: Tiredness can have many causes. It could be a sign of heart trouble when one feels so tired that regular activities are not conducted or when the feeling is sudden and leads to severe weakness
Palpitations: If the heart can’t pump blood normally, it may beat faster to try to keep up. It might feel that the heart is racing or throbbing. A fast or uneven heartbeat can also be a sign of arrhythmia. This is a problem with your heart rate or rhythm.

The heart is an organ which does not rest until you rest in peace. You need to maintain a healthy lifestyle to maintain a healthy heart. Diet, sleep, stress levels, emotional state, exercise or physical activity are the parameters which monitor your heart health. You need to monitor these parameters consciously. If you experience any of the above symptoms, seek medical assistance.

Don’t let the rhythm of your heart be affected. As in most cases of the heart, prevention is the only cure!

Watch out for Part 2 of this article only on GOQii.

#BeTheForce

September 28, 2019 By GOQii 1 Comment

Fitness for Positivity – How Rupasish Bhattacharjee Overcame the Odds!

The transition from childhood to adulthood is very delicate. Everything you do during your formative years shape you as a person. If it is your choices that shape you, what happens when you have no choice? What do you do when certain things aren’t in your control? Do you double down or do you find a way to fight? In the face of hurdles, our player Rupasish Bhattacharjee made the choice to overcome them!

Life before GOQii

Hailing from Bengaluru, Rupasish Bhattacharjee was afflicted with a liver complication since birth. Owing to this, he couldn’t eat or play as much as his friends did during childhood. He felt the need to do something about this as he yearned to live a normal life from a very young age. He did not want to miss out on the pleasures of life due to his health issues.

Thanks to this determination, he got an opportunity to enrol for a yoga program at school. He learned poses to improve his liver condition and though not completely cured, his overall health improved by 70%. After seeing the changes, he got interested in physical activities and participated in various sporting events in school. He moved to Sikkim for his graduation and completed his engineering from Manipal University. His health improved further due to god weather and because he started going to the gym for strength training.

Things were going good till the time he began working. The fast-paced routine between family and work left him with no time to think about fitness. He found it extremely difficult to manage food, exercise and sleep due to his changing shifts. This eventually left him unenergetic and depressed. He felt that being physically active had always been the reason his cheerful attitude and now that there wasn’t any, he was demotivated and negative about everything around him.

Finding a New Lease on Life

Before joining GOQii, Rupasish Bhattacharjee was desperately searching for a solution to streamline everything in his life. Around October 2018, one of his uncles who was a GOQii Player directed him to the platform. He found the coaching model impressive and immediately purchased a tracker.

He set his long term goal to be energetic since it was a major issue back then. His GOQii Coach asked him to start with basic walking and clock 8000 steps a day. He always thought that walking is not an exercise and no good would come out of it but his coach said otherwise. Convinced with the benefits, he began walking.

Around February 2019, when the India Steps Challenge was launched, he became obsessed with walking. So much so that one day he managed to clock in 35k steps on a Sunday. On average, he used to clock in 25k steps a day.

This much walking, coupled with late nights at work and proper rest put a lot of stress on his knees. He developed knee pain and had to discontinue physical activities for some time. This is when he discovered that rest is an important part of being healthy as well.

How GOQii Helped Rupasish Bhattacharjee

Earlier, Rupasish had a lot of misconceptions about food, nutrition and how they benefit the body. His GOQii Coach shared a lot of insights on these things and now he feels he is much more aware with knowledge from an expert and is eager to share his knowledge with the world.

He says that GOQii is a one-stop-shop for all your health needs. It has a tracker to track steps, it offers doctor consultations, LIVE Coaching to guide you whenever you falter in eating or exercise and challenges to keep you motivated and test your abilities.

He believes that our body is like a car which needs to be serviced. Good food is the fuel and exercise is what circulates the fuel to all parts of the body, keeping it in good condition to run smoothly. GOQii is like the authorized service centre for your car where all its problems get addressed and resolved in an authentic manner.

He feels that once you’re associated with GOQii, you automatically feel the need to eat balanced food and correct your lifestyle.

Being a Champion of Good Health

Rupasish is elated that he has been given the responsibility to lead one of GOQii’s Active Sunday Chapters at Bengaluru. He organizes sessions every Sunday at 7 AM. He plans to spread the word about Active Sunday activities to all the people in his society.

He says that being healthy is not just about physical fitness but mental health as well. When you’re happy and fit, everything feels positive. Even though his body may age, he always wishes to be a child at heart – full of energy and cheerfulness!

You can watch Rupasish talk about his experience on our User Journey Special on GOQii Play. Download the app to access many more user stories to get your daily dose of inspiration!

Do you want to share your experience and transformation with GOQii? Click here to share your story!

#BeTheForce

September 27, 2019 By Urvi Gohil Leave a Comment

Healthy Eating: How to Prepare Thick Curd At Home

Who doesn’t enjoy a bowl of curd? With its many health benefits and the million different ways in which you can consume it, curd is almost irreplaceable. Did you ever wonder how curd came to be discovered? Was it made with intention?

History suggests that curd, like many other fermented milk products, was discovered by accident! It was primarily due to milk being left unattended for a long time which initiated curdling. Basically, the milk began souring as a result of microbial action. A microorganism called Lactobacillus is responsible for the curdling of milk.

Curd is considered to be a superfood as it is rich in proteins, provides the body with Vitamin B and Calcium and is a fantastic Probiotic and is good for the gut. However, there are many who still struggle to make good thick curd at home and dependent on packaged curd.

So let us learn to make thick, perfect curd at home!

What You Will Need

Milk – 500 ml
Curd – 2 tsp
Water – 2 tsp

How to Prepare Thick Curd

In a pan add milk and allow it to boil. Keep stirring it lightly.
After the milk comes to a boil, switch off the flame and let it cool down.
Now take a bowl, add 2 tsp of curd and 2 tsp water & whisk it together.
Once the milk cools down, remove the cream from the milk and strain the milk in a bowl.
In the strained milk, add 2 tbsp of curd + water mixture & mix well.
Cover the bowl and keep it in a warm and dry space for 4-5 hours to set.
Refrigerate the curd for an hour before you serve it.

Things to Keep in Mind

Do not use skim milk for making curd, it will be runny.
The milk should not be very hot when you add culture in it otherwise the curd will coagulate
Never forget to remove cream

Benefits of Homemade Curd

Curd which is commercially available is the result of a straining process that removes the liquid whey, resulting in thicker curd.
In its traditional form, the curd is far more nutrient-dense and is rich in high-quality protein, beneficial probiotics and cancer-fighting linoleic acid.
Poor quality milk is used to produce most commercial curd, which can be a concern.

What if You Do Not Have Starter Curd?

Take boiled milk in a vessel and reheat it a little for making the starter curd. Use lukewarm milk. Now, pour little amount of milk in 3 different bowls for making the starter curd.
In one cup of milk drop 2 green chilies. It is very important to have the stalk attached to the chilies for making the starter curd and make sure it is submerged completely in the milk.
In second cup of milk, add 2 red chilies and submerge it completely.
In third cup of milk, add 1 tbsp. of lemon juice and mix it well.
Cover all the three cups of milk and store in a warm place for 12 hours.

Making starter curd is little time-consuming. Its not as good when compared to Dahi and is only used in making the curd.

Here you go! Try this natural and healthy way to make thick curd at home and don’t rely on packaged curd. Do share your experience in the comments below!

#BeTheForce