Aqsa Shaikh, Author at GOQii

July 9, 2015 By Aqsa Shaikh Leave a Comment

How many cups of ‘Green Tea’ should you have daily

Green tea has become a household name today and is highly appreciated by all. People have started including a cup of steaming hot green tea to their daily routine to keep themselves active and fit.

Having a cup of green tea and exchanging it with your regular mug of coffee or tea will also reduce the amount of sugar that you have throughout the day.

However, there are several misconceptions that green tea will help us loose weight with one mug of tea daily. While, it’s true that green tea can help you shed your weight, it is not a magical mug that will shed off the fats and extra weight without being physically active and eating healthy.

Many come to me for advice saying I am having at least 3 to 4 cups of green tea yet not losing weight. Why? There was one such friend who was worried that despite having green tea she was not shedding weight.

I asked her about their meal pattern and her activities through the day. After listening to her I realised that her meals were hay wire and activity was very less. Her purpose behind having green tea was only for weight loss! Yes, Green tea helps you lose your weight but, at the same time we need to make sure that we are active and keeping our meals healthy.

Green tea is filled with POLYPHENOLS like flavanoids and catachin which act as powerful antioxidants in our body. Green tea has the power to fight with your fat-fighting metabolism and helps in shedding that extra fat from our body

Indeed Green tea is a super healthy drink but, we need to make sure that we do control its amount of intake, 2 to 3 medium cups of green tea in a day is good enough but try not to exceed it!

Green tea also contains minimum amount of tanins and caffeine and it can interfere with our iron absorption and decrease our folic acid absorption which is an important vitamin that helps decreases birth defects. So woman who consume green tea should be careful that they do not consume in excess.

Remember there are no short cuts of super foods to a great body and a healthy life. It’s simple: eat healthy, drink lots of water and keep yourself active.

March 25, 2015 By Aqsa Shaikh 7 Comments

Food Pyramid – Did you Know? A guide to healthy eating with the Food Pyramid

Good food after a day’s hard work is always a pleasure and there is no substitute to good wholesome and nutritious food. But, more often than not, we are so engrossed in our work that we fail to think about our health which in turn means that we neglect good food.

And most think it’s a cumbersome task to deal with all these nitty gritties, think about nutrition, good food etc.. It’s so complicated. The idea ultimately is to just eat whatever is available when hungry.

But, it’s not difficult as it seems. Well, while you are in a restaurant you always think about ordering something tasty and compromise often with the nutritional aspects, here is a simple food pyramid tips which can be followed easily without any complications. This can be followed in restaurants or while you are out and at home.

So in the food pyramid, there is a cereal and grains group, followed by fruits and vegetable group, dairy products and non-veg, and then oil fat and sugary foods,

1.Cereal and grains group.
These are mostly staple foods which is consist of nutrients like carbohydrates ( Complex carbs ), proteins, fibre, minerals, calcium and B-complex vitamins. An individual should have 6-11 servings of this portion in a day. Common food items in this group- Whole grain cereals, millets, rice, Jowar, Bajra, Makai (Corn), Barley Oats, Poha (Puffed Rice) and Upma. These foods are rich in nutrients and good to provide the necessary fuel for our body to run all day long

One serving of this equals
-1 cup of rice, Poha or Upma
-1 cup of oats
-1 Paratha
-2 Phulka
-1 Jowar, Bajra or Makai roti.

2.Vegetables and Fruits group (Protective Food Group)

These foods are a must eat and should be added to our food plate daily. A person should have at least 3-5 servings of vegetables and 2-4 servings of fruits each day. They contain vital nutrients like vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, folate, iron and potassium and many more nutrients. These foods consist fiber help our digestive system and also gives us different types of nutrients, phytochemicals and are also rich in antioxidants.

One serving of vegetables consists of:

1 cup of leafy vegetables ( Lettuce, spinach, Fenugreek, Dil, spring onions)
1 medium potato/yam, ½ medium sweet potato ( cooked )
1/2 cup of other vegetables, cooked or raw ( You can also include some of them as salads too )
3/4 cup of vegetable juice(vegetables like Bottle gourd, carrot, beetroot, French beans, green peas, are good to grind and have as smoothe with a pinch of salt and pepper)

In fruits one serving is:
One small apple, orange or banana or any other fruit
1/2 cup of chopped, cooked or canned fruit

3.Dairy products and non-veg food items

These foods are the main protein building group because it is important to maintain the strength of our bones and muscles. Apart from providing proteins these food items also provide B-complex vitamins, invisible fat, fibre, calcium, vitamin A, riboflavin, vitamin B12, iron and iodine. You should ideally have 4-6 servings of this group each day. These foods are mainly important to build up our muscles and help to recover the wear and tear that might occur during the hectic day

One serving of this group consists of:
1 cup of milk, curd
40g (2 slices) cheese, paneer
1 cup dal, pulses, sprouts
1 handful of dry fruits, nuts like groundnuts
1 Egg
65-100gm cooked meat/chicken (½ cup mince, 2 small chops, or 2 slices roast meat)
80-120g cooked fish fillet

4. Oils, fats and sugar:

There are certain good fats which are useful and beneficial for our body, as the cell membrane around our brain are made up of good fats, These are the foods which should be eaten by keeping the portion control in mind and even the time of the day should be noticed as its important.

Some good source of sweetners are Raw honey/Jaggery/Dates/Prunes, these are the healthy sweetners, But, because of today’s lifestyle some unhealthy sweetners have sadly become the staple diet in our lifestyle. Ideally this should not have happened. Choose Any of the junk food item and it will contain these ingredients – burgers, pizza, vada pav, samosa, fizzy drinks, alcohol, instant noodles, chips, frankies etc.

These are not bad to have but, at the same time we should keep our portion in control. We shouldn’t have more than 3-4 servings of these food items in a day. Some common basic sources are vegetable oils, butter, sugar, jaggery and honey.
One serving is defined as 1 tsp of oil, ghee or butter and also 1 tsp of sugar, jaggery and honey.

Now last but the least…WATER:. Water is one of the most important component that cannot be ignored in this entire pyramid. We should have at least 8 glasses of water, as it is very important to keep our cells well hydrated and alive. The above given quantity is for a non-active person, but an active person needs at least 10 to 12 glasses of water average..

January 16, 2015 By Aqsa Shaikh 3 Comments

Protein importance for muscles strength

Sometimes we wonder how to build up protein, one very important thing that crops up in every human’s mind in terms of muscle development is “weight training” which is in a way correct, weight training is very important to build those muscles but diet is equally important. Wight training — creates microscopic tears in your muscles.

The nutrients you eat determine how well your muscles repair these tears and, in turn, how much strength you gain. Apart from eating healthful food, you must get enough sleep and eat frequent meals for the greatest muscular strength. Do you know that your fitness is 70% of your diet and 30% of your workouts?

For an example you have your vehicle, a car but you don’t have its key… Will you be able to drive the car? Absolutely not… Similarly, here the weight training is the car, and the key is your diet, a perfect amount of protein is very necessary for your muscle development. The most important nutrient in muscle repair, which allows your muscles to become stronger, is protein.

The Amount of protein for a sedentary person would be Approx 0.5 to 0.8 Grams, and for a active person who do rigorous activities, he needs at least 1.5 to 1 gram of protein for 1Kg. Protein is a macro nutrient necessary for the proper growth and function of the human body.. Any excess protein is turned into energy by the body. A deficiency in protein leads to muscle atrophy, and impaired functioning of the human body in general.

Ideal sources for building strength are complete protein sources, rather than incomplete proteins, states the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Complete proteins contain each of the nine essential amino acids. Sources include milk, yogurt, eggs, cheese, soy products, poultry, fish and meat. For the best benefit to your strength, consume a source of complete protein within 30 minutes of finishing your workout

Some of the good protein options are:-

1-Turkey and chicken breast

2-Fish ( tuna, salmon, halibut )

3-Cheese ( Non-fat mozzarella )

4-Lean beef ( Low fat )

5-Tofu

6-Beans ( Mature soy beans )

7-Eggs ( Egg whites specially )

8-Yougurt, milk and soy milk

9-Nuts and seeds (Pumpkin and watermelon seeds, peanuts and almond )

So the next time you are going to prepare for your muscle build up, try to keep these things in mind. And keeping these things on track doesn’t mean that you avoid the other nutrients. They are equally important.

December 11, 2014 By Aqsa Shaikh 2 Comments

Dates to eat or not?

Dates originate from date palm. This delicious fruit is always mistaken by people that it’s a weight gainer. Most are of the opinion that ‘Dates’ because of it sweetness can cause weight gain which is totally wrong. That is just a myth. ‘Dates’ in reality have many hidden benefits which I will take you through. The health benefits of dates are innumerable, it is in fact a dry fruit which is sweet in taste yet healthy and fat free.

Dates are high in iron and fluorine content which in turn are rich sources of vitamins and minerals. Having ‘Dates’ can help you keep many disorders at bay and keep cholesterol under control.

Some health benefits of dates.

Dates are free from cholesterol and very low in fat. Dates are rich in vitamins and minerals.
Dates are rich in protein, dietary fibre, rich in vitamin B3 B2 B1 B5 including vitamin A1 and C.
Dates are great energy boosters as they contain natural sugar like fructose sucrose and glucose.
Dates are very low in calories and very ideal choice for health conscious people
It improves digestive system as it contains soluble and insoluble fibres and different kind of amino acids
Dates help in weight gaining and are beneficial for those who are unable to gain weight.

How does Dates help during Pregnancy?

Pregnancy is when a lady suffers from excessive bloating, bowel problems along with other intestinal tract difficulties. Dates are good treatment for these kinds of intestinal disruptions. In addition, being abundant with iron, Dates prevents from anaemia in mother as well as child. Dates assist in improving the uterus muscles, allowing it to enlarge in a smooth manner during the course of delivery. Dates in addition improve mother’s milk by giving it nutrition along with being very therapeutic for the new-born’s overall health. Dates in addition helps avoid haemorrhage soon after childbirth.

Pregnant women need to eat about 300 calories per day more than their non-pregnant peers to gain the weight needed to support pregnancy. Instead of choosing high-calorie foods that are low in nutrients, pregnant women should choose nutrient-dense foods, such as dates, that provide plenty of vitamins and minerals along with the calories they need.

Good for Diabetes

Diabetics must be aware of controlling their weight. They should eliminate many food items from their snacks. Dates-the sweet desert fruit is cholesterol and fat free therefore, they serve as a great snack item. Many essential disease protective minerals such as iron, zinc, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and copper are present in Dates. These minerals are required in small amounts but, if the body is deprived of these nutrients then the health condition may be worsened. The insulin production is improved by the presence of zinc. Level of sugar is regulated by magnesium.

Lot of dates can easily improve the chance for type 2 diabetes simply because they have a great glycaemic index, in accordance with the Linus Pauling Institute Micronutrient Information Centre. High-glycaemic foods just like ‘Dates’ may cause sharp raises within your blood sugar levels and therefore should be consumed in moderation.

Any food if consumed in excess can be harmful to your internal system. Having dates in moderation in a day can prove and give many kinds of benefits to our life and make us more productive at work.