About Azra Faizan

Azra Faizan is a registered Dietitian and has been practicing in the field of nutrition for the last 7 years. As a lifestyle coach she helps people achieve a healthy lifestyle by changing their perceptions about diet and exercise. Her fitness mantra is ‘Quality of life should be measured in health and not wealth’. Before preaching to her clients she herself maintains a workout routine. Azra’s day starts with Power yoga and aerobics. She makes it a point to climb stairs up and down at every opportunity she gets throughout the day. Finally, she believes that sometimes a small nudge from the right person is all that is needed to get your body back on track.

May 23, 2017 By Azra Faizan 21 Comments

Why you need to strengthen your core?

‘You need to work on strengthening the core’

‘Why not start with some core strengthening exercises’

How often have you heard this line from a fitness trainer/doctor/health coach??

Now, how many of you know exactly what the core is?? My guess would be ‘we have a general idea, though not sure’

So let me try and explain first, what ‘the core’ is…

I do not want to bore you with the scientific names of the muscles consisting of the core, which I’m sure nobody would understand and everybody would just scroll over.

So to make it simple, the core of the body is broadly considered to be the torso.

It is a complex series of muscles, extending far beyond your abs, including everything besides your arms and legs. The major muscles of the core reside in the area of the belly and the mid and lower back, and peripherally include the hips, the shoulders and the neck.

It is incorporated in almost every movement of the human body. Functional movements are highly dependent on this part of the body, and lack of core muscular development can result in a predisposition to injury.

The core forms a sturdy central link between your upper and lower body. Much like the trunk of a tree, core muscles need to be strong yet flexible. A weak or inflexible core drains power from many movements and can make it downright difficult to do some.

Functions:

Contains and protects the internal organs –You will notice that this part of your body (core) doesn’t have many bones, except for the spine and some floating ribs, yet it contains many important internal organs that need to be kept safe and sound. Without the bony structure to rely on, the entire area needs to be wrapped up tightly to maintain the integrity of its contents. So I like to think of our core musculature as a tightly wrapped package protecting the internal organs.

Ensures greater mobility of the spine and trunk –Because of the way our core musculature is organized, it allows a great range of movement in the trunk. It allows us to bend forward, backwards, sideways, twist and do combinations of those.

Stabilizes the top part of the body over the bottom part- the core determines to a large part a person’s posture. In all, the human anatomy is built to take force upon the bones and direct autonomic force, through various joints, in the desired direction. The core muscles align the spine, ribs, and pelvis of a person to resist a specific force, whether static or dynamic.

Controls the pelvic-lumbar relationship – The core is used to stabilize the thorax and the pelvis during dynamic movement and it also provides internal pressure to expel substances such as urine (continence),feces, air, vomit and also for labor and childbirth in women,

Core Stability:

In essence, core stability means ‘stability of the spine’, ‘core strength’ is the ability to support your spine and keep your body stable and balanced. It is the strength that allows you to perform manual tasks safely and effectively in everyday life.

There are “five different components of core stability: strength, endurance, flexibility, motor control, and function”. Without motor control and function, the other three components are useless, like a fish flopping out of water no matter how strong you are or how much endurance you have.

I like to believe that core strength is as vital as most of the major organs in the body, let me tell you why –

Muscular tone helps blood circulate more effectively once it’s pumped from your heart. Core muscles are no exception, and when your core is strong you can notice an improvement in blood circulation.
Core stability promotes healthierdigestion. The digestive system contains a lot of blood vessels and when the core area is stagnant, the whole digestive system may feel more sluggish too. You may see increased bloating, discomfort, and indigestion associated with meals. The digestive system also contains a large and essential part of the immune system. Core strength can help support your body’s immunity too as it rounds out healthy digestion and circulation.

Because the diaphragm is located near the core, core strength promotes deeper and higher quality breathing.
Because the pelvis is located near the core, women may find relief from cramps and PMS around the menstrual cycle after strengthening core muscles. Women use their core muscles during labor and delivery too, and having a strong core, help in an easier labor.
Finally, the physical balance that comes from supporting your core can extend to yourmental-emotional health as well. Physical balance promotes a sense of calm, steadiness, and support.

How to Measure your core strength –

Let’s end with a fun activity!!

Let’s all of us measure our core strength, this way even people with regular exercise (including me) will know where we stand and how much further we need to work for a strong core..

Core Muscle Strength & Stability Test was designed by Brian Mackenzie, a senior athletics coach with UK Athletics, the United Kingdom’s National Governing body for Track and Field Athletics.

Preferably use a mat for performing this test, to get accurate results.

Position a stop watch where you can easily see it
Start in the Plank Exercise Position (elbows on the ground)
Hold for 60 seconds
Lift your right arm off the ground, Hold for 15 seconds
Return your right arm to the ground and lift the left arm off the ground, Hold for 15 seconds
Return your left arm to the ground and lift the right leg off the ground, Hold for 15 seconds
Return your right leg to the ground and lift the left leg off the ground, Hold for 15 seconds
Lift your left leg and right arm off the ground. Hold for 15 seconds
Return you left leg and right arm to the ground
Lift your right leg and left arm off the ground, Hold for 15 seconds
Return to the Plank Exercise Position (elbows on the ground), Hold this position for 30 seconds

Results

Good Core Strength
If you can complete the test fully, you have good core strength.

Poor Core Strength
if you cannot complete the test fully, your core strength needs improvement.
Poor core strength results in unnecessary torso movement and swaying during all other athletic movements. People with poor core strength are more likely to suffer from back injuries, and the likelihood of other peripheral injuries also increases in those with a weak core

This results in wasted energy and poor biomechanics.

If you are unable to complete the test practice the routine three or four times each week until you improve.

By comparing your results over time, you will note improvements or declines in core strength.

April 18, 2017 By Azra Faizan 4 Comments

Beat the heat with these 6 healthy summertime Coolers

“It was so hot!! That I had a coke to cool down….

“I just can’t do without chilled juice in this heat “

Yes, we are in the middle of April and it’s getting hotter by the day. As the heat wave increases we have this constant feeling of being completely sapped out of our energy. This feeling lingers through the day making us lethargic and lazy.

When the temperature soars and sweat pours, we are unable to satisfy ourselves with just chilled water, and want something more? The reason being increased sweating leads to dehydration. Sweating depletes the electrolytes in the body, and hence plain water does not quench our thirst and the body craves rehydration through soft drinks and juices.The downside however is that these drinks and juices come with loads of sugar and chemicals.

Having carbonated beverages or powder based refreshment doesn’t actually serve the cause of rehydration. These hardly contain any electrolytes and contain high amounts of sugar, which we need only in a small amount, as glucose does help in carrying the electrolytes into the blood.

Here is the solution!! I have tried to put together a few of my favorite healthy and refreshing drinks, to enjoy all through summer, these beverages are still high in sugars, but do not contain any white sugar, they are made instead with natural and unrefined sugars like jaggery, honey, and naturally sweet fruits.

Jaggery Lemonade

Let me start with my all-time favorite, jaggery juice or lemonade made with jaggery

Some will say it’s the same as adding sugar, But NO !! Although the glucose content in both may be similar, jaggery is loaded with antioxidants and minerals like zinc, iron, and selenium. Mixed with water it has a cooling effect on the body in the summers, and also aids in digestion.

Serves 4

25 gm jaggery, crushed

1-inch piece ginger, grated

1 lemon

Water

Soaked Basil seeds (optional)

Soak crushed jaggery, add grated ginger in 4 glasses water, for 2 – 3 hours (I usually keep it in the fridge while soaking, so that it soaks and chills at the same time). After 2 hours, mix and dissolve any lumps of jaggery that might be present. Squeeze juice of a lemon in it, strain the mixture, add soaked basil seeds to have a further cooling effect, and serve.

2. Aam Panna (Raw mango cooler)

Raw Mango is an extremely healthy fruit, godsend for the summer that is high in Vitamin C, prevents dehydration, sunstroke, reduces body heat, relieves diarrhea and constipation and activates the liver too.

A traditional recipe, one of my favorites, since summer also brings seasonal raw mangoes with it.

Serves 4 – 6

1 Raw mango

Mint leaves

10 – 15 g of black jaggery.

Water – to dilute.

Boil the raw mango in a pressure cooker for 2 whistles. Retain the liquid. Peel the raw mango and scoop out all the pulp, discard the seed, and blend the pulp in a mixer with jaggery and mint leaves, strain and mix with the remaining liquid. At this point, the raw mango concentrate can be frozen into cubes and used as per requirement, 2 cubes in a glass of water. Or diluted with chilled water and served immediately.

3. Iced Green Tea with Ginger, Mint, and Honey

We already know how healthy a cup of green tea is, but what if you are not in the mood for anything hot? Let’s just make iced tea with green tea!!

Serves 6 to 8

6 cups water
1/4^th cup ginger, peeled and sliced
3 to 6 bags green tea (depending on how strong you like your tea)
1/2 cup mint leaves, tightly packed, plus extra to serve
1/4^th cup honey
1 lemon, divided

In a medium-sized pot, combine the water and ginger slices. Bring to a boil. Once the water boils, remove from heat and add the tea bags and mint leaves. Cover the pot and steep for about 15 minutes.

Strain the brewed tea; separating the liquid from the mint leaves and tea bags. Mix in the honey and juice from half lemon into the tea. Transfer to a pitcher and cool at room temperature before refrigerating.

Slice the second half of the lemon. When ready to serve, add 1 to 2 lemon slices into each glass, along with a few mint leaves and ice cubes. Once the tea has cooled, pour it into the glasses and serve.

4. Muskmelon, Coconut and orange drink.

Coconut water is a very refreshing drink to beat the torching tropical summer thirst. Its liquid is packed with simple sugars, electrolytes, and minerals to replenish dehydration conditions inside the human body, combine it with a few fresh fruits and you have a designer tropical drink.

Serves 3 -4

2 cups or ½ a muskmelon, cubed

1 orange segmented

1 ½ cups coconut water (1 large tender coconut)

¼ tsp black salt

Mint leaves for garnishing.

Combine all the ingredients in a mixer, and blend until smooth, pour into glasses, and serve immediately garnished with mint leaves. We don’t strain this juice as we would like to have it with all the goodness of its fibers.

5. Kokum Juice.

Another gem to have in your kitchen in the summer, the benefits are endless and better explained here, but, most commercially available kokum syrups are loaded with sugar and preservatives, hence a fresh version would be more beneficial.

Serves 4 – 5

150 gms kokum
4 glasses of cold water
1 pinch salt
2 tsp black salt (pink salt)
1 tsp roasted cumin powder
15 – 20 g jaggery
½ tsp black pepper powder
mint leaves for garnishing

Soak kokum and jaggery in ½ a glass of hot water for 5 minutes. Blend it with blender, drain & keep aside. Mix all ingredients together in 4 glass of cold water and garnish with fresh mint leaves.

6. Fruity lemon fizz

For all those fizz lovers, don’t worry I haven’t forgotten about you. And YESS!!! Fizz can be made healthy too.

Serves 1 – 2

1 Tbsp any mashed fruit (strawberry/peach/kiwi/cucumber/pineapple/sweet melon/watermelon)
2 Tbsp whole sliced fruit
3/4 cup sparkling club soda/sparkling mineral water
¼ cup mineral water

1 Tbsp lemon juice/orange juice
1 lemon slice/orange slice

Mint leaves
honey or stevia if needed.

You will need a good amount of fruit per glass since this will be what flavors your water. Adding frozen fruit can be very helpful because as the frozen fruit melts into the water it easily saturates the water with flavor. Frozen fruit also chills your beverage nicely. Another trick is to gently mash some of your fresh fruit to release the flavor.
Add your fruit, sweetener (if using), mint leaves, lemon juice and water to your serving glass. Stir/mash briskly and allow it to chill in the fridge until ready to serve, add chilled club soda to the glasses just before serving.

NOTE: I have tried to use natural sugars in my recipes, for diabetics, you can enjoy the same drinks with stevia instead of natural sugars if you are looking for optimum sugar control.

Overdoing anything, even if healthy will do no one good. Hence, the ideal serving size for these drinks would be 1 glass a day. Chilled to perfection!!

So Let’s enjoy every sip of these healthy coolers!!

December 30, 2016 By Azra Faizan 2 Comments

How to Reduce Side effects of most commonly used Drugs

“For every drug that benefits a patient, there is a natural substance that can achieve the same effect.”
– Dr. Carl C. Pfeiffer

Then why is it that drugs have become our first choice and not herbs? Well, the answer is obvious, in today’s fast paced life we all want immediate results and while, some herbs do give immediate results for simple ailments, more serious ailments call for a longer treatment with herbs which most people don’t have the patience for. Also, at times the harm done is so extensive that we do need immediate results.

But, the biggest problem with allopathic medicines is their side effects, they might cure your ailment, but they more often than not, leave you with another one, resulting in the Doctor prescribing you another drug to reduce the side effect. This can sometimes become a vicious cycle.

From my personal experience, I understand that even though medication, long term or temporary, sometimes is a necessity but, having further prescription drugs to counter the side effects of medications can usually be avoided by adopting simple home remedies instead.

So what are the most commonly occurring side effects of most allopathic medications?

Hyperacidity, constipation, diarrhea, nausea, Abdominal cramps, water retention, oral ulcers, weight gain, weight loss, bone and joint pains, hair fall, High blood pressure, liver toxicity, kidney toxicity, drowsiness and, even hallucinations.

So let us learn a few tips to keep in mind whenever on medication.

Know your medicine– don’t blindly accept whatever the Doctor has prescribed, without counter questions. Inquire about the side effect so that you are aware if it ever occurs, check the dosage too, and always make sure to ask your Doctor for the minimum dose required.
WATER, WATER, WATER– Keep yourself hydrated, side effects occur because all oral medicines affect our whole body and not just the affected part. So drinking adequate water helps in flushing out the toxins present in drugs.
Supplementation – Most drugs along with the ailment deplete our body’s vitamin and mineral stores, in turn leading to the side effects. So, why not replenish our vitamin stores instead of treating the symptom alone. Supplementation also helps in a quicker recovery.

Now; I know what my colleagues would be thinking “How can a nutritionist say take supplementation, instead of trying to get essential micronutrients through food?? “

Yes, like most nutritionists I do agree that healthy eating can keep give us all the essential micronutrients that we need and that supplementation gives us synthetic vitamins and minerals which are not equally effective. But, the rules are changed when on medication, and to make up for the fast depletion and to prevent simple side effects, supplementation is key.

Now let’s take up those common Side effects individually and know what can be done about them.

Hyperacidity: – If you have ever been prescribed an antibiotic, you would have noticed that your Doctor always prescribes an antacid along with it. And, it’s not only antibiotics that cause acidity, most drugs do.

DID YOU KNOW – antacids themselves can cause drug dependence, constipation or diarrhea, the vicious cycle that I was talking about.

Instead, ditch the antacid and go for a glass of warm water with half a lemon squeezed in it – first thing in the morning. In fact, don’t wait till you get the acidity, start beforehand to prevent it, Plus lemon water also helps to remove those toxins I was talking about.

For severe acidity, you can have lemon water after every meal too. And for immediate relief, you can try chewing on a basil leaf – works same as 2 tbsp of prescribed antacid syrup.

Constipation: – Another simple side effect, with a simple cure, though in the case of any complaint from the patient for constipation along with medicines, the Doctor will never fail to prescribe yet another syrup for relieving the symptom. The problem – drug dependence again. The Solution – adequate hydration, good soluble fiber in the diet, simple fruits like papaya, and bananas can work wonders.

In the case of severe constipation, a tablespoon of Psyllium husk (Isabgol), that is a naturally occurring fiber can work as good as any prescribed syrup.

Diarrhea: – If it’s not constipation, it’s diarrhea – more often than not diarrhea is caused due to hyperacidity. So the above mentioned lemon water works as the best prevention. Another quick age old cure is black tea with lemon -tea contains astringent tannins that help reduce intestinal inflammation.

And to replenish the electrolytes lost during severe diarrhea, just have simple ORS solution, lime juice (with sugar and salt), juices and coconut water at short intervals.

Nausea – Nausea or vomiting again usually subsides with lime juice and ORS solution.

Oral ulcers – Another common occurrence whenever someone is prescribed antibiotics. These are caused due to hyperacidity and depletion of B-complex vitamin stores in the body – So a supplementation of B-complex and the first prevention that is lemon water usually works best.

For severe and painful ulcers – applying honey on the affected area, and gargling with lightly salted water usually helps alleviate the pain.

Water retention and weight gain: – Almost 70% of weight gain due to medication is because of water retention. So by simply reducing our salt intake, upping our potassium intake and water intake, we can say goodbye to our water intake.

Fruits like sweet lime, oranges, tomatoes, and bananas are all high in potassium, and not to forget my favorite – coconut water.

Increasing our water intake also helps in reducing water retention.

Replacing some of our salt with black salt also helps in increasing our potassium intake and reduce sodium intake. Another big culprit of high sodium is processed food which can be easily avoided.

Water retention aside, the long-term use of some drugs – like oral steroids, anti- depressants, Antihistamines, and even insulin can cause weight gain.

In such a case, eating healthy, and having a good exercise regime helps a lot. If a healthy lifestyle is adopted, these drugs are less likely to affect our waistlines. Knowing that the drug can cause weight gain also helps in making sure we try and avoid long term use of the same.

Weight loss: – With most medications, weight loss results due to severe loss of appetite, and the toll the ailment and its treatment is taking on the body. Good Proteins and good fats to supplement our diet along with medication help a lot in preventing severe weight loss.

It is also important to understand that this weight loss is temporary and due to the condition, which can be reversed once the medication stops.

Bone and joint Pain: – Many drugs leech calcium from our body, and some medicines can also cause depletion of vitamin D. So, timely calcium and vitamin D supplementation along with prescribed drugs can usually reduce these symptoms.

Hair loss: – Again, nothing but protein depletion, and your body’s proteins are getting used up elsewhere to fight inflammation.

Liver toxicity: – Our liver should be cleansed timely, ailment or no ailment, side effects or no side effects. It may sound complex but, it’s really easy. A daily morning glass of lemon water on an empty stomach can detox your liver. For added toxicity or side effects, garlic is another excellent food to cleanse the liver. Just chew on a clove of raw garlic every morning, and the allicin (an organsulfur compound obtained from garlic) works wonders.

Kidney toxicity: – Simple kidney toxicity or high uric acid levels can be easily corrected with just increasing our water intake, for cleansing the liver further, you can just add a cup of coriander or parsley tea to your routine daily.

Drowsiness: Drowsiness is usually just temporary, and again, knowing in advance that a drug can cause you to be sleepy, can prevent any serious damage.

Hallucination: – Yes, some drugs do cause hallucination, again temporarily, And the best way to Manage these. Is to be aware that the said drug can cause hallucinations. If we stay aware, it is less likely that the hallucination will scare or disturb us.

Follow the above and avoid complications due to medications.

October 20, 2016 By Azra Faizan 11 Comments

What’s for Dessert….

“You dietitians have banned all desserts for me.. “

“I have not tasted sweets since I discovered I am diabetic “

“No Artificial sweeteners, you say; does that mean I can’t ever enjoy life? “

Since the time I became a dietician, and later a GOQii coach, I must have heard these statements at least once every week.

What I like to explain to my players is that – It’s not that you can’t enjoy desserts; it depends on how you choose to enjoy them.

Even where diabetics are concerned – our focus should be, not on cutting off all their sugar but, to achieve good sugar control.

Growing up, I had always observed an aunt of mine, whose husband was diabetic; make a separate serving of sugar free dessert for my uncle.And, I always used to wonder how would a dessert taste without any sweetness in it – But, the main ingredient of her sugar free custard or puddings, used to be some or the other added fruit.

When god has given us naturally sweet ingredients, why not use them to their fullest potential.

Going forward I would also like to add that, even though the recipes I am sharing are sugar free – they are still desserts, made with some amount of fats and are still an extra to our routine meals, hence should still be enjoyed occasionally and in smaller quantity than our main meals. I always like to remind my players that our society has smaller sized dessert plates and bowls for a reason. Because, we were meant to enjoy them in smaller quantities from the beginning – It is only, the commercial trend of JUMBO sizing everything that starts the trouble.

Date Balls

It is a customary Indian tradition to celebrate everything with laddus (sweet balls). You get good grades – laddu, you have a baby – laddu, your wedding gets fixed -laddu, and the list goes on…Why not have healthy Laddus then to celebrate every occasion?

Ingredients:

1 cup deseeded dates

¼ cup mixed nuts (almonds, walnuts, pistachio)

Desiccated coconut.

Just soak the dates in ½ a cup of water for 10 minutes – and churn in a grinder jar with the nuts. If too soft, refrigerate for half an hour. Make lemon sized balls of the mixture and coat with desiccated coconut.

Banana custard

Everyone knows how to make custard – It’s the simplest desserts to satisfy our sweet cravings. And the recipe couldn’t get any more basic than this.

The trick to make a sugar free custard is to mash up an over ripe banana and mix it in the milk, instead of just adding chopped fruit.

Just follow the instructions on your packet of custard powder – and mix an overripe mashed banana in the end – strain the mixture if you don’t want any lumps. Serve as you wish – plain as a fruit salad or even a healthy trifle.

You could try the same thing with mango puree too, to make mango custard.

Date biscuits

This is a recipe I pulled off the internet in my earlier baking days. And, the first thing I realized after trying it once – there is no need of sugar in it, although the original recipe calls for it. So, I went on to perfect it, minus the sugar and it actually made no difference whatsoever.

Ingredients

Date Filling:

3 cups (400 grams) pitted dried dates

1 cup (240 ml) water

Oatmeal Crust:

2 cups (200 grams) old fashioned rolled oats

1 cup (130 grams) Whole wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

¾ cup (175 grams) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Method

Date Filling:Place the dates and water in a medium saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the dates are soft and have absorbed most of the water (about 5 – 10 minutes). Remove from heat, Let it cool to room temperature and then puree in your food processor until smooth. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Grease an 8 x 11 inch (20 x 28 cm) or a 9 x 9 inch (23 x 23 cm) pan. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper. Set aside.

Oatmeal Crust: In the bowl of your food processor, place the oats, flour, and baking soda, salt and ground cinnamon. Pulse to combine. Then add the butter and pulse until the mixture is crumbly. Press 2/3 of the mixture into the base of the prepared pan.

Spread the dates evenly over the oatmeal crust. Sprinkle the remaining dough evenly over the top of the dates. Bake for about 30 -40 minutes or until golden brown. Place on a wire rack to cool. Once the squares have cooled, cover the pan with plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator at least one hour or until firm enough to cut easily into squares.

These will keep, covered, in the refrigerator up to a week.

Makes about 20, 2 inch squares.

Banana and mango ice cream:

I SCREAM, YOU SCREAM, WE ALL SCREAM ICE CREAM!!!

Ever heard that phrase? I have grown up with it… Well, this is technically frozen yoghurt but, I don’t see anyone complaining when it’s served up in a cone or a pretty ice cream bowl.

6 bananas, peeled and chopped
2 mangoes, peeled and chopped
1 cup (280g) yoghurt
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Place the banana and mango in an airtight container and freeze for 4 hours or until frozen. Place the banana, mango and yoghurt in a food processor and process until smooth. Serve as you like.
When it comes to cooking, there is no reason to stick to only these fruits – if some other fruit catches your fancy like straw berries, raspberries or peaches or any other, you can try using them too in a similar manner.

Tip: If not serving straight away, return to an airtight container and freeze. Allow to soften for 5 minutes before serving. You could scoopinto ice-cream cones to serve.

Serves 6 -8

My list can be endless, Sweet potato porridge, Date pudding, Carrot and Date Porridge /Halwa…..

But, why should I do all the work, cooking is therapeutic for some and for some it’s an experiment. So why not all of you try this experiment and make sure to share your results..