About Farida Gohil

Farida Gohil believes that ‘Fitness is not about being better than someone else, it is about being better than YOU used to be, ultimately, nothing tastes as good as being fit feels’!. Armed with a Master’s degree in Dietetics and Applied Nutrition, she opines that Fitness is a Lifeline, with no Finish Line. Frida is also qualified in Nutrition for exercise and Fitness Course and is a Diabetic Educator. She is an experienced Clinical Dietician and a Nutritionist especially Nutrition required for Exercise and Fitness with additional experience in the field of fitness, rehabilitation and lifestyle management. She says, “To achieve good Health, become Fit and Improve Quality of life one must surround itself around fitness minded people… as Positivity is Contagious! And it is said that Body achieves what the mind Believes! Farida as a coach helps one design and structure achievable goals with respect to Exercise, Nutrition, Fitness and lifestyle choices. According to her Motivation is what gets you started and Habit is what keeps you going.

March 7, 2018 By Farida Gohil Leave a Comment

Chocolate lovers Listen up!!! Dark chocolate can boost your health

Who does not love chocolates? Everybody does but, chocolate and especially (75% and above) dark only a few of them. One needs to cultivate a taste for it. And, believe me, once you have developed that eating dark chocolate can be super beneficial.

How? Well, let me take you through the benefits ….

(1) Dark Chocolate Cuts Stroke, Heart Disease Risk

I recently read an article in an English Tabloid that said mentioned that dark chocolate is good for the heart.. Quoting from the article, according to one of the researchers Simin Liu, “The analysis found that Cocoa flavanol intake may reduce dyslipidemia insulin resistance and systematic inflammation, which are all major subclinical risk factors for cardiometabolic diseases”.

As per another new study published in the journal Molecular Nutrition & Food Research, eating flavanol-rich dark chocolate has been found to protect against the risk of heart disease and stroke by improving platelet function within two hours of consumption.

Researchers at the University of Aberdeen Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health examined the effects of consumption of dark chocolate that was enriched with cocoa extract in the blood of 42 healthy volunteers, 26 women and 16 men. They compared platelet function of the participants who ate enriched dark chocolate with those who ate dark chocolate that contained a lower cocoa and flavanol content, and white chocolate.They found the dark chocolate enriched with flavan-3-ols significantly decreased platelet activation and aggregation in men, but only decreased platelet aggregation in women.

“Taken together, these findings support the notion that flavanol-rich foods, including cocoa products, may help to promote cardiovascular health,” Dr.Kelm said.

(2) Dark Chocolate helps in increasing endothelial function of SMOKERS…

The researchers studied smokers because their blood vessels tend to respond poorly to changes in blood flow, possibly related to impairments in how nitric oxide sends signals to the inner lining, the endothelium, of blood vessels. This impaired endothelial function is a marker for increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

A dozen smokers (six men and six women) in their early 30s, who did not have any known health problems, were enrolled in the double-blind crossover study to compare the effects of a cocoa drink rich in flavanols to a cocoa drink that tasted the same but contained very low levels of flavanols. Circulating nitric oxide levels and blood vessel responses (flow-mediated dilation) were measured before drinking the cocoa and again two hours later. Each participant drank flavanol-rich and flavanol-poor cocoa drinks during different testing sessions.There were significant increases in circulating nitric oxide and flow-mediated dilation after ingestion of drinks. These changes correlated with increases in flavanol metabolites. In addition, the improvements were reversed when the participants were given a drug (L-NMMA) that interferes with nitric oxide signalling, thus supporting the idea that the flavanol-rich cocoa drink produced its effects by influencing the nitric oxide system.

The researchers pointed out that the cocoa drink they used was specially processed to retain much higher levels of flavanols than are typically found in commercially-available cocoa drinks; so it is unlikely that drinking more hot chocolate would produce a similar effect.Nevertheless, the conclusion drawn from these results have to be interpreted with caution, because it is not known whether or not the chronic consumption of flavanol-rich foods leads to sustained increases in endothelial function and the prevention of future cardiovascular events. In particular, in smokers, it is unlikely that cocoa can completely attenuate the deleterious effects of continued smoking, the study says.

(3) Dark Chocolate helps in preventing the development of Atherosclerosis

A flavanol-rich drink is capable of increasing nitric oxide levels in the blood and reversing the detrimental effect of smoking on vascular adaptation. It remains to be seen whether the acute beneficial effect of a flavanol-rich drink translates into a long-term benefit, in terms of attenuating or preventing the development of atherosclerosis.

(4) Dark Chocolate helps in improved thinking, decreased appetite, obesity, as well as type-2 diabetes.

Cocoa, the basic ingredient of chocolate, is one of the most flavanol-rich foods around. That’s good for chocolate lovers because previous research has shown that flavanols in other foods such as grapes and tea can help fight weight gain and type-2 diabetes. But, not all flavanols, which are a type of antioxidant, are created equal. Cocoa has several different kinds of these compounds. Researchers found that adding one particular set of compounds, known as oligomeric procyanidins (PCs), to the food made the biggest difference in keeping the weight down if on high-fat diets. They also improved glucose tolerance, which could potentially help prevent type-2 diabetes. Oligomeric PCs appear to possess the greatest antiobesity and antidiabetic bioactivities of the flavanols in cocoa, particularly at the low doses.

5.Dark Chocolate helps in Lowering blood pressure

In particular dark chocolate which contains higher levels of flavanols than milk chocolate, may protect against the risk of cardiovascular disease by lowering blood pressure, blood flow, and improving blood lipid levels. The link between cocoa and blood pressure stems from the discovery that the indigenous people of San Blas Island in Central American, who drink flavanol-rich cocoa drinks every day, have normal blood pressure regardless of age. However, flavanol concentrations in cocoa and chocolate products vary according to cocoa processing procedures and types of chocolate, so it is difficult to establish the optimal dosage for an effect.

So go ahead and be a Chocoholic!!!!

November 9, 2017 By Farida Gohil Leave a Comment

Sleep Deprivation linked to High-calorie food choices

Photo Credit: iStock

There is more science supporting that getting a good night’s is best for your health.

A new study published in the journal Food Product Design, by Author Colin Chapman, MSc, of Uppsala University says that obesity found in people who were deprived of one night’s sleep purchased more calories and grammes of food in a mock supermarket on the following day.

Sleep deprivation also led to increased blood levels of ghrelin, a hormone that increases hunger, on the following morning; however, there was no correlation between individual ghrelin levels and food purchasing, suggesting that other mechanisms such as impulsive decision making may be more responsible for increased purchasing.

The Uppsala University of Sweden is the oldest university of the Nordic countries and offers courses in Science and Technology, Medicine, Humanity and Social Sciences. Researchers at Uppsala University investigated whether sleep deprivation may impair or alter an individual’s food purchasing choices based on its established tendency to impair higher-level thinking and to increase hunger.

They hypothesised that sleep deprivation’s impact on hunger and decision making would make for the ‘perfect storm’ with regard to shopping and food purchasing-leaving individuals hungrier and less capable of employing self-control and higher-level decision-making processes to avoid making impulsive, calorie-driven purchases.

On the morning after one night of total sleep deprivation, as well as after one night of sleep, the researchers give 14 normal-weight men a fixed budget (approximately $50). The men were instructed to purchase as much as they could out of a possible 40 items, including 20 high-caloric foods and 20 low-caloric foods. The prices of the high-caloric foods were then varied to determine if total sleep deprivation affects the flexibility of food purchasing. Before the task, participants received a standardised breakfast to minimise the effect of Hunger on their purchases.

Sleep-deprived men purchased significantly more calories (+9%) and grammes (+18%) of food than they did after one night of sleep. The researchers also measured blood levels of ghrelin, finding that the hormone’s concentration was higher after total sleep deprivation; however, this increase did not correlate with food purchasing behaviour.

Their finding provides a strong rationale for suggesting that patients with concerns regarding caloric intake and weight gain maintain a healthy, normal sleep schedule.

This study supports a link between sleep loss and Obesity.

Findings from a study published in the journal Nature Communications that found losing sleep can make you more likely to crave junk foods rather than healthy foods. Other studies have linked poor sleeping habits to increased appetites.

Results from the study show that sleep deprivation significantly decreased activity in appetitive evaluation regions within the brain during food desirability choices, combined with increased activity in the amygdala. This change in brain activity is further associated with an increase in the desire for weight gain promoting high-calorie foods following sleep deprivation.

August 3, 2017 By Farida Gohil Leave a Comment

Kid’s Salt intake linked to Obesity Risk & 5 ways to Use less Salt

Children who consume a high amount of salt are likely to consume more sugary beverages, putting them at risk of unhealthy weight gain and obesity, Says a new study published online in journal Pediatrics.

Researchers at Deakin University’s Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition Research analysed data from the 2007 Australian National Children’s Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey, which collected diet and physical activity information from 4,283 children aged 2 to 16 years. The researchers looked at the children’s consumption of dietary salt, fluids and sugar sweetened drinks.

They found 62% reported consuming sugar-sweetened drinks. In this group, children who consumed more salt consumed more fluid and in particular more sugar-sweetened drinks. Children who consumed more than one sugary drink per day were 34% more likely to be overweight or obese. They also found that for every one gram of salt consumed per day, the children drank 46 grams more fluid, with those who reported consuming sugar sweetened drinks, drinking 17 grams more for every one gram of salt.

Previous Deakin research has shown children are eating around 6 grams of salt a day or four times more than is recommended. The researcher said, together with the results of this new study, it is becoming even clear that there is a need to keep a closer eye on how much salt our children eat to help ensure they lead long and healthy lives.

They also concluded that High salt diets not only put children at risk of serious long-term health problems, such as developing high blood pressure later in life which is a major cause of stroke and heart disease, they are likely to be contributing to the rates of overweight and obesity.

So here are 5 ways to Use less Salt

Sodium chloride (salt) is essential to the body. The Sodium in salt helps transmit nerve impulses and contract muscle fibres. Working with potassium, it balances fluid levels in the body. But, you only need a tiny amount of salt to do this, less than one-tenth of a teaspoon. The Average American gets nearly 20 times that much.

The body can generally rid itself of excess sodium. In some people, though, consuming extra sodium makes the body hold onto water. This increases the amount of fluid flowing through blood vessels, which can increase blood pressure.

Most of the salt that we consume comes from prepared and processed foods. The leading culprits include snack foods, sandwich meats, smoked and cured meat, canned juices, Canned and dry soups, pizza and other fast foods, and many condiments, relishes, and sauces-for starters. But enough comes from the salt shaker that it’s worth finding alternatives.

Here are 5 ways to cut back on sodium when cooking or at the table:

Use spices and other flavour enhancers: Add flavour to your favourite dishes with spices, dried and fresh Herbs, roots (such as garlic and Ginger), citrus, vinegar, and wine. From black pepper, cinnamon, and turmeric to fresh Basil, Chili Peppers, and lemon juice, these flavour enhancers create excitement for the palate – and with less sodium.

Go nuts for healthy fats in the kitchen: Using the right healthy fats – from roasted nuts and avocados to Olive, canola, soybean, and other oils – can add a rich flavour to foods, minus the salt.

Sear, sauté, and Roast. Searing and sautéing foods in a pan build flavour: Roasting brings out the natural sweetness of many vegetables and the taste of fish and chicken. If you do steam or microwave food, perk up these dishes with a finishing drizzle of flavourful oil and squeeze of citrus.

Get your whole grains from sources other than bread: Even whole-grain bread, while a healthier choice than white, can contain considerable Sodium. And bread contains salt, not just for flavour but to ensure that the dough rises properly. You can skip that extra salt when you use whole grains outside of baking. Try a Mediterranean-inspired whole-grain salad with chopped vegetables, nuts, and legumes, perhaps a small amount of cheese, herbs and spices, and healthy oils and vinegar or citrus. For breakfast, cook up steel-cut oats, or other intact whole grains with fresh or dried fruit, and you can skip the toast (and the extra sodium).

Know your Seasons, and, even better, your local farmer: Shop for raw ingredients with maximum natural flavour, thereby avoiding the need to add as much (if any) sodium. Shop for peak-of-season produce from farmers’ Markets and your local supermarket.

July 30, 2017 By Farida Gohil Leave a Comment

Vegetables can boost enjoyment of meals!

Did you know vegetables can make you look like a hero and a better cook?

According to a new study published in the journal of Public Health Nutrition, smart preparation and presentation of a vegetable entree not only enhances the enjoyment of a meal but also boosts a diner’s perception of the person who prepared it.

Researchers at Cornell University explored the impact that adding a vegetable to the plate has on perceptions of both the meal and the person who prepared it. With the majority of vegetable consumption in the American diet taking place at dinner time but only 23% of those meals being served with a vegetable, the study explored what added psychological motivation to include vegetables in meals might exist.

The study consisted of two phases. Twenty -two laddering interviews were conducted, followed by a national survey of 500 American mothers with two or more children under age 18. The survey asked participants to evaluate meals served either with or without vegetables, as well as the cook who did or did not include a vegetable with the dinner time meal. Participants who were asked to choose from a list of 12 attributes, such as “selfish” or “loving” to describe the meal preparation. No respondent saw both versions of the meal or meal preparer. The survey also asked questions regarding children’s favourite vegetable.

Participants eating meals that included a vegetable gave significantly higher ratings to dishes such as chicken, steak and pasta on a variety of dimensions including “tasty” and “loving”.

Results showed that meals were favoured when a vegetable was included. For example, plain Steak versus Steak with broccoli (score of 7.00 as opposed to 8.08), but also received better descriptions such as “loving” for the same meal (7.00 vs. 7.92).

They also choose much more positive descriptors for the meal preparer that served a vegetable, including a much more frequent selection of “thoughtful”, “attentive” and “capable” accompanied by a decrease in the selections of “neglectful”, “selfish” and boring.

Overall, vegetables “made the meal” not only in terms of enhancing expectations of the main dish but in terms of creating a better perception of the cook as well.

The researchers also uncovered a number of interesting insights concerning children’s favourite vegetables.Most participants easily recalled their children’s favourite vegetable, with over a dozen different vegetables receiving multiple mentions.Vegetable preference also changed with age; broccoli was the overall favourite for older children, while the carrots and corn topping the list for the younger kids.

Go ahead and do not forget to include a variety of veggies in your meal!