Archives for October 2019

October 31, 2019 By GOQii Leave a Comment

The New Age Health Horror of Diabesity

When someone says “horror”, what do you imagine? Definitely nothing pleasant but something extremely scary, right? Do you picture ghosts and demons? If your perception of horror is limited to only supernatural occurrences, you might want to take a big step back. While supernatural entities are subjective, health issues are very much real and their stats are horrifying to say the least.

Recently, we came across a study titled ‘Finding a Policy Solution to India’s Diabetes Epidemic‘ by Karen Siegel, K. M Venkat Narayan and Sanjay Kinra. The study indicated that ‘In India, 35 million people have diabetes—a number expected to more than double by 2025, disproportionately affecting working-age people’. That means over 70 million people. Isn’t that scary?

Diabesity, which is a combination of Diabetes and Obesity, is even worse! Can you picture it? Obesity is a key risk factor for diabetes. India has the world’s largest number of people with Impaired Glucose Tolerance (IGT) and Impaired Fasting Glucose (IFG), which are the precursors for diabetes. Obesity and IGT are mostly found in younger populations.

Major Causes Leading to Diabesity

Globalization: facilitates access to various pre-packaged and processed foods. In fact, there is minimal physical activity as we have one touch access to almost everything! Surely, we are growing economically but at the cost of our health.
Nutrition Transition: There is a major shift observed in the meal patterns of Indians today. People are turning more towards western foods, foods that are pre-packaged, ready to eat foods, high in calories, sugar, aerated drinks, hydrogenated fats over the simple traditional food which are high in vitamins, minerals, fiber and other essential nutrients.
Higher Percentage of Abdominal Fat: Abdominal obesity is the key factor of insulin resistance and development of diabetes.
Malnutrition During Pregnancy: Because of the co-existence of underweight and overweight, children are often born underweight and adapted to a low-nutrition environment. Low-birth weight infants are more susceptible than those of normal birth weight to obesity and diabetes, especially when raised in an Obesogenic environment.
Lifestyle: Most people today lead sedentary lifestyles devoid of much movement. Even at work we’re glued to our desks and laptops. This accounts to minimal physical activity. At the same time, the stress factor is the maximum with respect to targets/goals associated with work, family and social circles.

How To Keep It At Bay

Keeping Diabesity at bay actually involves 3 very simple and basic lifestyle modifications:

Make Healthy Food Choices: Choose whole grains and its products over refined ones. Incorporate more fruits and veggies daily. Opt for products less in sugars, fats and high in fiber. Make a habit of reading nutritional labels before buying a product. Do not forget “MODERATION IS THE KEY”.
Exercise: Make it a point to exercise on a regular basis. Exercising will not only keep you active but also help reduce insulin resistance, improve cardio vascular strength, tone your muscles, and increase Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). Exercising releases endorphins which is a feel good hormone that will also help you relieve stress(both physical and mental).
Stress Management: Managing time and stress is essential to stop the release of the stress hormone Cortisol which makes you crave for foods that are high in carbs. All that you eat when stressed is stored in the body as fats, especially in the belly. Meditating regularly before going to bed, deep breathing during stressful moments, indulging in your hobbies, exercising, completing your work on time, etc. will help curb stress levels. It is not a single factor that would work but both.

If you want to learn about effective ways to manage obesity and diabetes, or want effective exercises to combat both, tune into GOQii Play and get live coaching from renowned experts you can even interact with.

We hope this article on Diabesity alarms you enough to make necessary lifestyle modifications before its too late! Stay healthy and #BeTheForce!

October 30, 2019 By GOQii 7 Comments

2 Breathing Techniques For Better Sleep

You have trouble getting sleep despite the fact that you are tired? Sleeping well is an art. It needs a perfect blend of healthy habits and control of mind. A clean body and mind, relaxed mood, physical exercises, and perfect dietary control are some of the basic sleep-inducing methods. However, one of the best ways to bring the body into its relaxed state is – BREATHING! How do breathing techniques for better sleep work? Let’s find out!

Breathing Techniques For Better Sleep

Breathing deeply has been proven to affect the heart, the brain, digestion, the immune system and even the expression of genes. Research has shown that breathing exercises like Pranayama can have immediate effects by altering the pH of the blood, or changing blood pressure. But, more importantly, they can be used as a method to train the body’s reaction to stressful situations and dampen the production of harmful stress hormones and help induce sleep.

Here are 2 important breathing methods to calm the mind and induce sleep naturally.

1. The 4-7-8 Technique

How To Do It?
This process is recommended by Dr. Andrew Weil, a practitioner and teacher of integrative medicine for the last thirty years. To do this exercise, sit up in bed with your back straight or lie down on a straight back and press the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth right behind your front teeth. Maintaining that position, close your mouth and inhale through your nose for four counts, hold that breath for seven counts, and then exhale through your mouth around your tongue for eight counts. Repeat this pattern until you have completed four full breaths.

How It Works?
The 4-7-8 breathing technique is effective because it encourages the fast removal of carbon dioxide. Doing so equates into a better preservation of the bicarbonate pool; our reservoirs for helping maintain an appropriate pH balance. Also, it allows the lungs to become fully charged with air, allowing more oxygen into the body, which promotes a state of calm.

2. Left Nostril Breathing

How To Do It?
Simply take your right hand and with your fingers outstretched, block off your right nostril by putting gentle pressure on it with your right thumb. Be sure to keep the rest of your fingers straight and pointing up. With a long, slow, deep breath, gently inhale through your left nostril. Then, just as gently, exhale long, slowly and completely, again through the left nostril. Do this for at least 3 minutes; chances are you might doze of even before that!

How It Works?
When we’re under stress or feeling anxious, we tend to breathe mostly out of our right nostril, which is connected to our left brain. This activates our sympathetic nervous system, the channel responsible for the classic stress response – dilated pupils, increased core temperature, sweating, and increased heart rate and blood pressure. And when we start breathing through the left nostril the parasympathetic system gets activated which slows us down and helps our body automatically run its day to day jobs of digestion, elimination, sleep cycles and more.

Apart from these 2 breathing techniques for better sleep, you can also try meditation or mindfulness by just observing your breath as it goes in and as it comes out. Connecting with this rise and fall of the breath, and noticing where you feel that breath move within the body can help you begin the process of relaxing tense muscles and create a coherent heart pattern which brings an instant state of tranquil and helps you drift off to peaceful deep sleep.

You can also join live ASMR and meditation sessions for good sleep on GOQii Play within the GOQii App. We hope this article helps you sleep better! Do you meditate before you go to bed? What helps you sleep better? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!

#BeTheForce

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

Stroke: Straight Drive or Pavilion

“Doctor please help! Half of my body does not move anymore” came a slurry cry from a helpless Vinod Agrawal, a businessman. His wife stood next to him in the emergency department weeping profusely and their 16 year old son watched his parents helplessly.

When examined thoroughly, Agrawal was diagnosed with STROKE. Thanks to the lifestyles that most people lead these days, this is a common site in hospitals.

A stroke strikes when the blood supply to the brain is affected either due to blockage leading to ischemia or rupturing of vessels. Due to this the brain does not receive enough oxygen and nutrition causing cell death, which is the ideal condition for stroke.

How Does a Stroke Happen?

Ischemia: Occurs due to narrowing or blockage of blood vessels due to blood clots formed either in arteries connecting brains or other vessels or due to dislodgment of fatty deposits called plaques (atherosclerosis).
Haemorrhagic: Bursting or leaking of blood vessels which compresses the brain cells. This leakage of blood puts pressure on brain cells which is accumulated in brain due to trauma, hypertension or some blood thinning medication.
TIA- Transient Ischemic Attack (Mini Stoke): Brief episodes of stroke which is self-limiting. Blood flow is briefly interrupted and these are the warning signs of future stroke. It is like an alarm from the body.

Common Presentation of Stroke

Weakness or tingling in half or full body depending on the involved artery
Deviation of face with difficulty in speech and closure of one eye
Mental Confusion, severe headache, loss of power in the limbs

When any of the above symptoms are seen, the patient must be rushed to the hospital.

After thoroughly understanding the history and general examination, few specific tests and examination like CT scan are done to find out the cause of the stroke. The treatment is very complicated and management is done in ICU and Neurophyscican may be required.

As there are two major causes of stroke- ischemia and haemorrhage-both have different management. If ischemic– the focus is to restore adequate blood flow-clot is broken or dissolved.

If haemorrhagic -stop bleeding or leakage of blood, to reduce the pressure of brain cells. Surgical intervention may be required if there is any arterial malformation or rupture of vessels.

Rehabilitation activities like physiotherapy, speech therapy, etc help to restore the physical activities gradually.

Prevent It!

All the above symptoms and complications can be prevented if a healthy lifestyle is followed. Eat a healthy- diet which includes fresh fruits, vegetables, avoiding processed meat and avoid junk food.

Yoga, especially Pranayama, as this ensures that every cell of the body receives adequate oxygen for appropriate functioning. Pranayama rejuvenates the body cells which ensures the ideal functioning of the body.

Stress kills! Accept what life offers happily and keep working towards your goal without killing yourself.

Remember Smoking Kills — all advertisements shown are true. STOP smoking. Avoid alcohol, if you do consume it, make it minimal.

If you are hypertensive keep absolute check on blood pressure and follow all dietary and physical discipline so the blood pressure is controlled.

If one is diabetic, regular check of sugar is important.

Listen to your body. It always warns you before the disease sets in.

Stroke is an acute emergency but the root cause lies in chronic habits and patterns of life. Every moment, even at this moment of reading the blog, we can choose health or disease. Either you choose to pick up alarming signals of body and take necessary prevention to live a healthy life or be undisciplined and get hospitalized. THE CHOICE IS YOURS!

October 28, 2019 By Saba Mirza Leave a Comment

Health Benefits of Weight Lifting You Might Not Know

Whenever I advise my players to include weight lifting in their workout regimes, their reactions range from, “It’s too complicated or difficult for me,” to “No! I don’t want to bulk up”. These are the misconceptions engraved in our minds from the glossy images of sculpted and chiseled bodies of men and women appearing in fitness websites and magazines! Apart from the fact that many of these photographs are Photoshopped or Edited, they unanimously promote the sole purpose of weight lifting as ‘body building’, which defers many people who want to actually stay fit and active, from it. Weight lifting, in essence, is not just about getting toned and sculpted! The benefits of weight lifting are numerous, ranging from improving your body composition, burning fat, strengthening your bones and joints and increasing your happiness quotient as well!

Health Benefits of Weight Lifting

Get Stronger and More Active: Weight lifting stimulates the growth and development of the slow twitching muscle fibers (type2 muscle fibers) which improves agility, endurance, and builds up your stamina and strength, thus, boosting your performance in doing activities of daily livings (ADLs).
Boosts Resting Metabolism: When the muscles are stimulated after strength training, they need to work harder to rebuild. Hence, they utilize more calories for redevelopment and growth! Muscles are metabolically active tissues which keep burning calories even during the resting phase known as the Afterburn Effect!
Strengthens Your Bones and Joints: Weight training not only strengthens your muscles and ligaments but also improves bone density. The way muscles start developing under stress, the bones also adapt by increasing deposition after consistent weight lifting. This becomes more important as one reaches the age of early 40s when we are prone to natural decline. Also, stronger ligaments and bones prevent the occurrence of injuries while performing cardio and other activities!
Lower Risk of Diabetes & Blood Sugar Levels: A study funded by the National Institute of Health has found that men who added weight lifting to their cardiovascular exercise routine had a 34% lower risk of diabetes. It’s advisable for individuals with type 2 diabetes to include weight training in their workout regime as toned muscles improve insulin sensitivity and better utilization of glucose!
Improves Heart Health: As weight lifting improves the lean muscle mass in the body, it improves blood flow to different body areas which put less pressure on arteries, thus improving cardiac muscles pumping capacity!
Improves Posture & Balance: Weight lifting strengthens your core, tones up your muscles and improves your posture. It reduces undue stress on different bones and joints, especially the shoulders, spine and hips which are more prone to injuries because of bad posture! Weight training also promotes the development of smaller muscle sets known as stabilizers. These take care of keeping you upright and helping you balance on a slippery surface or on one foot when you are reaching out to a higher shelf!
Makes You Happier: Weight training stimulates the release of endorphins in the body which are also known as the ‘feel good hormones’. They trigger the happy centers in the brain. A well-toned, lean and fit body elevates your mood and self-esteem. Weight training brings you out of your comfort zone. High intensity weight training proves the worth in persisting through uncomfortable situations – a lesson which can be applied to be successful in other aspects of life too.

How to Start Your Weight Training Journey?

The simple mantra is just ‘go ahead’. Simply enter a gym or put on a video to see how you can take your journey forward. Start with minimum weights and gradually increase. Make sure to start under the guidance of an expert to avoid injuries or wrong postures or techniques. Keep setting challenges and targets which will keep you motivated to push harder.

You can even subscribe to the GOQii App to seek guidance from your GOQii Coach or watch fitness videos, tackle myths and get the right information about weight training by interacting with experts on GOQii Play.

Push past your limits to the extent that your toughest workout now, becomes your warm up later! If you hit a wall, simply climb over it. What stops you from hitting the gym? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.