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About Arooshi Garg

Arooshi Garg has in depth experience in the field of Food, Nutrition, Fitness and Lifestyle Management. She believes that a little goes a long way! With moderation in lifestyle and habits, one can achieve a gradual, yet long-lasting positive change. For her fitness is not about being better than someone else, but being better than who you used to be. She helps one in achieving their fitness goals with respect to nutrition, exercise and stress management.So if you are ready, let's hit the road towards a fitter, healthier and younger ‘You!’ she says.

March 16, 2022 By Arooshi Garg 5 Comments

Celebrate a Skin-Friendly Holi With Natural Colors

Protect your skin on holi

Holi is the festival of colours in India that also marks the arrival of spring – a season of joy and hope. The festival is famous for its colours and how people apply them to each other’s face. I remember one horrendous incident a few years ago that left my face scarred due to an allergic reaction and I was on anti-allergens for over a month. The culprit was a toxic paste colour that my skin came in contact with. I, therefore, thought I should share some good ways to enjoy a safe and non-toxic Holi this year.

In the last couple of years, chemical colours are being used to celebrate Holi as they are cheaper than natural colours. Chemical colours can be very harmful to the health and skin of individuals as well as the environment.

Use of safe, natural and eco-friendly colours, can help to save our environment and conserve our biodiversity. Natural colours are obtained from skin friendly sources such as turmeric, flower extracts, sandalwood powder, mehndi (Henna), etc and are safe to use. 

Here’s How You Can Create Safe, Non-toxic Colours

  1. Brown color: Brown is one color that is never spotted anywhere in the color markets during Holi. So go ahead and surprise your visitors with this different and amazing color! Acacia catechu (Kattha) – which is commonly consumed with betel leaves (pan) gives a brownish color when mixed with water.
    Other methods: Boil tea or coffee leaves in water. Cool it and use it.
  2. Saffron: Soak a few stalks of Saffron in 2 tablespoons of water. Leave for a few hours and grind them to make a fine paste. Dilute that with water as per the desired color strength.
    Other methods: The Flame of the Forest, commonly known as Test, Palash or Dhak, is the source of the wonderful, traditional color for Holi. For fragrant yellowish-orange colored water, the flowers are soaked overnight in water and can also be boiled.
  3. Green: Save a trip to the parlor by using green colored henna powder (Mehendi) this Holi. Either use it separately or mix it with an equal quantity of any suitable flour to get a lovely and natural green shade. Make sure to use pure henna that does not have Amla (Indian Gooseberries) mixed in it, as this would be brown in color.Dry henna will not leave color on your face and can be easily brushed off. When mixed with water, it will leave a slight color, thereby making it a fast color.
    Other methods: Dry and finely powder Gulmohur tree leaves or crush the tender leaves of the Wheat plant to obtain a natural green color for Holi. The color can also be obtained by mixing a fine paste of green leafy vegetables like spinach (Palak), coriander (Dhaniya) or mint (Pudina) in water.
  4. Blue: Dry Jacaranda flowers (Neeli Gulmohar/Jungle Badam) in the shade and grind them to obtain a beautiful blue powder.
    Other methods: The blue Hibiscus, which is found in Kerala, can be dried and powdered just like the red hibiscus, or crush berries of Indigo plant and add water to it as per the desired colour strength.
  5. Yellow: Mix two teaspoons of Turmeric powder with twice the quantity of gram flour (besan). Turmeric and gram flour have magical qualities that are very good for the skin. Ordinary wheat flour (Atta), refined wheat flour (Maida), rice flour, ground nut powder, fuller`s earth (Multani Mitti) and even talcum powder can be used as substitutes for gram flour.Other methods: Flowers like Cassia fistula (Amaltas), Marigold (Gainda), Yellow Chrysanthemums and Black Babul yield different shades of yellow. Dry the petals of these flowers in the shade and crush them to obtain a fine powder. Mix an appropriate quantity of the powder with gram flour or its substitutes and see your festival come alive without any harmful effects of chemically-loaded colors.
  6. Pink: Slice or grate one beetroot and soak it in 1 liter of water for a wonderful magenta. Boil or leave overnight for a deeper shade and dilute it before use.
    Other methods: Boil the peels of 10-15 pink onions in half a liter of water for a pinkish color. Remove the peels before using them to remove any unneeded smell. You can also soak pink Bauhinia variegate (Kachnar) flowers in water overnight or boil them for a bright pink color.
  7. Red: Red Sandal Wood Powder, which has a beautiful red color, is extremely beneficial for the skin and can be used in place of Red Gulal.
    Other methods: Dry red hibiscus flowers in shade, powder and add any flour to increase the bulk. For a bright orange-red, mix a pinch of lime powder with 2 spoons of turmeric powder and a few drops of water. Use the resulting paste only after diluting it with 10 litres of water. Peels of Red Pomegranate boiled in water, juice of tomatoes and carrots diluted with sufficient quantity of water to remove the stickiness also give a natural yet beautiful red color.
  8. Black: Last but not the least, comes black. Often derived from very dangerous sources like used batteries, this color may cause a lot of trouble later. However, for a safe black color, boil dried fruits of Indian Gooseberry (Amla) in an iron vessel and leave it overnight. Dilute with water and use.
    Other methods: Extract juice of black grapes and dilute with sufficient quantity of water to remove stickiness.

Tips For a Skin-Friendly Holi:

  • Cover up: Nothing can beat covering the maximum part of your body with full sleeved clothes and trousers. But the old remedy of using mustard oil, coconut oil, olive oil or vaseline over your entire body on the morning of Holi does wonders in removing the colours easily
  • No warm water: Do not use warm water for bathing/removing colours. This can lead to the fastening of colours. Instead, always opt for cold water to wash the colours off. You should also try to remove the dry colour powder with dry hands rather than using water as it spreads even more after water application.
  • Stay Hydrated: Drink lots and lots of water as skin tends to get dehydrated with the use of chemicals. You can try other refreshing water-based drinks too. For instance, a virgin mint mojito, or fresh lime and buttermilk, to beat the heat out of your body!
  • Hair Care: Before you use a shampoo, rinse your hair with water to allow the additional colours to wash off. It is extremely vital to condition your hair to prevent any hair damage. Make a simple hair pack by soaking a few fenugreek (Methi) seeds in four tablespoons of curd. Apply this pack or egg yolk on your scalp and wash your hair with a good shampoo after 30 minutes. You can also apply a mixture of honey and olive oil for deep conditioning.
  • Face: Do not scrub the colour off with soap. Opt for a mild cleanser and follow it up with lots of moisturizing cream. If you feel any skin irritation during the process of taking off the colours then take 2 tbsps. of calamine powder and mix it with a few drops of honey and rosewater to make a paste. Apply this on your face and once it has dried up, wash it off with water and apply a moisturizer. You can also take off the colour with a mixture of Gram Flour (besan) and milk. If you are unable to do anything else, simply apply a generous amount of Multani-Mitti on the entire face and body to revive your skin.
  • Natural body scrub: You can use a homemade scrub by mixing the following ingredients: 2 tbsp. wheat bran, 1 tbsp. sandalwood powder, 1 tbsp. rice flour, along with some poppy seeds (khus-khus), few drops of honey and a mashed tomato. Scrub your body with this to clear off the colours and to bounce back to your fair and glowing skin.You can also rub a piece of papaya on coloured areas of the face and body to get rid of the colours. There is another good body scrub you can use to wash off colours. Mix curd, gram flour, orange peel powder along with little turmeric, a few drops of lemon and 1 tbsp. of olive oil. This will help clean your skin.  

Post Holi Skincare Regime

For the next two weeks, apply a Multani Mitti face pack every alternate day to ensure that your skin remains soft and supple. Do not go for any skin treatments like waxing, threading, facials, or apply any other external medication on the skin for 2-3 days after Holi. Your skin is very sensitive after Holi. These treatments may cause an adverse reaction.

Safe, Natural Holi

We hope these tips help you. For more, check out Healthy Reads or ask a GOQii Coach by subscribing for personalized health coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

#BeTheForce 

February 19, 2020 By Arooshi Garg 2 Comments

How To Manage Eye Stress and Strain

manage eye stress and strainMany of my players suffer from eye stress and strain due to excessive small screen time. With most of us using computers and cellphones at work, eye strain has become a major health issue. Research has shown that eye strain and stress issues occur in around 70-80% of people using computers at the workplace. Feeling fatigued, mistakes while working, watery eyes, twitching, and redness in eyes, constant headache, and irritability are some common issues that people face due to eye strain. It’s a growing need to cope with and manage eye stress and strain.

Tips to Manage Eye Stress and Strain 

1. Adjusting Lighting
Many times we tend to ignore the light arrangement while working for long hours. The bright light from windows or sharp interior lighting can cause major eye stress.  One should position the computer screen in a manner that the windows are to the side, instead of in front or behind it. Try to block excess lighting from outside by using curtains. Reduce sharp interior light by reducing the number of light sources or by using warm light tone bulbs/tubes. Halogen lights are better than overhead fluorescent lights.

2. Reduce Glare On The Screen
Excessive glare on the screen which might go unnoticed is another cause of getting headaches while working on screens. There are different gadgets available to help reduce this strain:

  • Download a Blu-ray filter which is an app which creates a shield on your screen
  • Use anti-reflective coating/cover on your screen
  • If outside light cannot be reduced, you can use a computer hood
  • Use Anti-reflective coating glasses. One can opt for Anti-reflective (AR) coating glasses. These are special glasses made for people with excessive screen time. This special coating helps block harmful blue light, keeping the eyes relaxed.

3. Adjust Your Display Settings
Adjusting the display settings like brightness, text size, contrast, the color temperature of your computer can help reduce eye strain and fatigue. Generally, these adjustments are beneficial:

  • Brightness: of the screen you are looking at should appear relaxing to the eye. If the background seems to emit light/is too bright or seems too dull or grey, then you need to adjust the brightness. Also, most screens have automatic brightness control these days, wherein the brightness is automatically reduced if the surrounding lighting is dimmed.
  • Color Temperature: Adjust the screen settings according to your comfort. Reducing color temperature also reduces the amount of blue-light being emitted by a screen.
  • Text size: This is one considerable factor. Avoid straining eyes by reading text that appears difficult to read. Adjust text size as per your comfort.

4. Taking Frequent Breaks
Try to take 5-10 minute breaks every 2 hours to reduce the feeling of fatigue. Take a stroll, look away from the screen and splash your eyes with cold water. During your computer breaks, stand up, move about and stretch your arms, legs, back, neck and shoulders to reduce tension and muscle fatigue. Use cold green tea (used) bags for relieving puffiness around your eyes. (Keep used green tea bags in the refrigerator- and put them over your eyes- covering the under eye area as well) rest for 20 minutes and remove.

5. Blinking
Blinking keeps your eyes from drying out. Constant gazing at screen reduces blinking by 30-40%. Hence, the eyes feel dry and strained. Every 20 minutes, blink 10 times by closing your eyes as if falling asleep (very slowly). This will keep your eyes from drying out. If eyes feel strained post blinking, rub palms together and apply a warm compress to the twitching eye and gently massage the eyelid with your fingers.

6. Eye Exercises
Eye exercises can greatly help in improving eyesight and is a must for people having long screen hours to avoid developing eye issues.

  • Try moving your eyeballs up and down without blinking. After about 10 repetitions of this exercise, rub the palms of your hands together and cup your eyes so you can feel the warmth seep through. This is called palming.
  • You can follow this by moving your eyeballs horizontally, from 9 to 3, and diagonally, from 2 to 7 and 11 to 4. This can help relieve the extra pressure on muscles which develops while looking at computer screens.

With all the suggestions listed, I am sure it will help you immensely avoid and manage eye stress and strain. Having a routine eye exam is a must if you have more than 3-4 hrs of screen time every day.

We hope this article helps you #LevelUp your health at your workplace. Do leave your thoughts in the comments below! For more health and lifestyle tips, tune in to GOQii Play.

#BeTheForce 

March 26, 2019 By Arooshi Garg 5 Comments

Jaggery and its Benefits!

Benefits of JaggeryJaggery is one of the most common ingredients found in Indian kitchens. Apart from being one of the best natural sweeteners, it also offers a plethora of health benefits. It is good for your cardiac health, digestion, improved metabolism, blood circulation, respiratory system, menstrual cramp or pains, sexual potency and stronger immunity.

About 70-80% of the world’s Jaggery production takes place in India, where it is commonly called gur/gud. It is primarily made from Sugarcane but nowadays it can be made from coconut sap and date palm as well.

How is Jaggery Made?

Jaggery is made by first extracting juice from Sugarcane. The canes or palms are pressed to extract the sweet juice or sap. The juice is then allowed to stand in big containers so that any sediment settles to the bottom. It is then strained to produce a clear liquid.

The juice is then concentrated by placing in a very large, flat-bottomed pan and boiled. During this process, the Jaggery is stirred and the impurities are skimmed off the top until only a yellow, dough-like paste remains. This paste is then transferred to containers where it cools into Jaggery blocks.


Jaggery vs Refined Sugar

Jaggery contains more nutrients than refined sugar because of its molasses content. Molasses is a nutritious by-product of the sugar making process, which is usually removed when making refined sugar. Molasses adds plenty of micro-nutrients to the final product. Hence, it is more nutritious as compared to white refined sugar!

10 Benefits of Eating Jaggery

  1. Prevents and Treats Common Cold: Consumption of Jaggery helps fight symptoms of a cold and cough. Mixing a small piece of it in warm water or tea can help greatly.
  2. Immunity Booster: Loaded with antioxidants and minerals like zinc and selenium, which helps curb free-radicals responsible for inflammation, Jaggery helps boost resistance against infections, hence building stronger immunity.
  3. Detoxifies the Liver & Other Organs: It plays a major role in detoxifying internal organs such as liver, stomach, intestines, kidneys, etc. by flushing out harmful toxins from the body. Certain compounds present in Jaggery activate the digestive enzymes in our body, which help us digest food properly and also help reduce indigestion/bloating.
  4. Combats Menstrual Pain and PMS: It is helpful in providing relief from cramps. In case you experience mood swings, irritation before your period, you should eat a small piece as it increases the levels of hemoglobin, maintains the hydration levels in our body in heavy-flow during periods and helps in releasing more Endorphins during periods (this helps relax our body). During periods, consume a solution of a glass of lukewarm water and Jaggery. It will help you tackle period cramps for the day.
  5. Body Pain & Aches: Do you suffer from aches and pains in your joints? Eating Jaggery can provide you with immense relief. Add some grated ginger in boiling water and strain. Add a small piece of Jaggery and drink this regularly to reduce joint pain. You can even drink it with a glass of milk everyday to help strengthen the bones. This can help prevent joint and bone problems such as Arthritis.
  6. Prevents Constipation: It activates the digestive enzymes in the body, stimulates bowel movements and helps prevent as well as relieve constipation. A cup of warm water with organic Jaggery and half a lemon’s juice is one of the best home remedy to cure constipation.
  7. Prevents Anaemia: Rich in iron and folate, it helps prevent anaemia by ensuring that a normal level of red blood cells is maintained. It also helps in increasing haemoglobin content of blood. This is especially beneficial for pregnant women.
  8. Acts as a Cooling Agent: Eating a small piece of it everyday helps in maintaining normal body temperature, which helps in keeping your stomach cool. Experts recommend drinking GurSharbat (soaked in ice cold water) during the summer months to cool off.
  9. Prevents Respiratory Problems: By consuming Jaggery regularly, you can prevent many respiratory problems such as asthma, bronchitis, etc. Eating it with sesame seeds is beneficial for the respiratory system and preventing allergies related to it.
  10. Regulates Blood Pressure: Jaggery contains potassium and sodium, which play an important role in the maintenance of pH levels in the body. It ensures that a normal level of blood pressure is properly maintained.

Quick Til Ladoo/Bars Recipe

You will need:

  • 1 Cup White Sesame Seeds
  • 1 Cup Jaggery
  • 1 tbsp ghee
  • ¼ tsp Cardamom Powder
  • Nuts of your choice

Method:

  • Roast sesame seeds on medium heat till light brown
  • Heat ghee in pan and add Jaggery
  • Simmer on slow flame till it melts
  • Put off flame and add the roasted til (and crushed nuts) and mix well
  • Grease your palms with ghee and make small balls or set in a plate and cut bars out of it

Want to know more? Ask us in the comments below!

#BeTheForce

February 27, 2019 By Arooshi Garg 2 Comments

How to Deal With Body Shaming

How to Deal With Body Shaming
Society is not making it easy to accept our bodies as they are. Body-shaming (criticizing yourself or others because of some aspect of physical appearance) can lead to a vicious cycle of judgment and criticism. The insensitivity has risen to a level where people don’t even mind making fun of someone’s body type!

Today’s generation does not see anything wrong in ‘voicing their opinions’, regardless of the fact that these opinions can actually hurt someone. Most of the young girls and boys today are scared of becoming ‘fat,’ and therefore do crash dieting, eat a low-carb diet – failing to understand that their bodies are in the growth phase, need more carbs-proteins for growth and dieting means a completely different thing! It has also been seen that kids as young as 10-12 years are now worried about the way they look and their ‘size’!

Shockingly, some people believe that making a person feel ashamed of their bodies is a good way of motivating them to transform themselves, and that they will work even harder to achieve it and the sad part is that some people will sham you just for fun!

If someone is unhealthy, telling them how to change that, showing them how they can become fit, and encouraging them to achieve what they desire is the right way, rather than just criticizing them or making fun of them. Discrimination, singling out, and shaming only causes stress and makes any person feel bad. If someone is already overweight/underweight, this attitude can actually stress them out!

Body shaming can cause depression, eating disorders such as Anorexia Nervosa or binge eating and reduced self-esteem. Here are some tips to avoid body shaming and to silence body shamers as well!

  • Ignore Negativity
    Stay away from negative influences or people who make you feel uncomfortable entirely. People like these usually thrive on your discomfort and misery. Trying to correct them or make them see your journey/life situation is absolutely futile.
  • Stand Up For Yourself
    Next time when someone makes fun of your looks or mocks you, don’t just withdraw into a shell, speak out against it. Express what is going on inside your mind. Stand up against body shaming. Remember, your motive isn’t to humiliate them, but to make them aware of the negativity of their attitude and the implications of their ‘shaming’ on those affected.
  • Find The Real Issues
    Sit down and take some time to think about the real issues that are bothering you. Why are you in this situation? What is it that you want to change and why is that change not happening? Many a times, there may be factors beyond your control that are affecting your efforts. Accept and admit the reality of the situation. If it’s something that is beyond your control, don’t stress on it but move on in life.
  • Share It – Talk About It
    Don’t just bottle it up inside! Express the emotion to move through it. Speaking with someone you trust will help you tide over an unpleasant situation. Talking is nature’s antidote to stress. Keeping it inside you will only weaken you further, and destroy your inner motivation.
  • Do Something That Makes You Happy
    Go for a walk, talk to a friend, have a healthy dinner! Controlling food with good dietary habits, living a better lifestyle and regular exercise are better coping mechanisms that have helped people over decades to feel good, and ultimately bring the changes they wish to see in themselves. Always divert yourself to something more useful.

The way to end body shaming is not a difficult task, it is simply just keeping your opinion to yourself and letting everyone live in peace. Love yourself for who you are and let others do the same thing. Do remember this is your own journey, and you need to be your own well-wisher and guide.

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