Jigna Sheth, Author at GOQii

April 9, 2020 By Jigna Sheth 1 Comment

9 Bad Habits That Are Affecting Your Immunity

With the COVID-19 pandemic spreading rapidly, it becomes increasingly important to take care of one’s health. While there is no cure for the virus, building immunity can be an effective preventive measure. While we have discussed things we should do in order to improve immunity, today, let’s discuss bad habits that are destroying your immunity.

9 Bad Habits That Destroy Immunity

Not Getting Enough Sleep: Adequate sleep helps the body rest and prepare to fight infections, bacteria, viruses, and other triggers. If you aren’t getting enough sleep, your body doesn’t have the chance to fight diseases as effectively, Aim for 7-8 hours of sleep daily to keep the immune system at its prime.
Lack of Exercise: Exercise plays a significant role as this is a very powerful stimulant of the immune system. It enhances the ability to create antibodies and T-cells, which are white blood cells that help the body fight disease. As little as 30 minutes of walking for 5 days a week can help your immune system perform at its best. You can also try these exercises: https://goqii.com/blog/5-simple-exercises-you-can-do-at-home/
Poor Nutrition: Quality of food is very important and often overlooked cause of immune depletion. Our food supply contains many unhealthy, toxic chemicals which can cause havoc in our bodies. Over time, this depletes the immune system, and if not corrected, will continue to get worse. It can also cause you to be overweight, a condition that makes you more susceptible to disease. A healthy diet should include plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat milk. Try these foods to build your immunity: https://goqii.com/blog/7-foods-that-boost-immunity/
Stress: High-stress levels can create a hormonal imbalance in our body, weakening the immune system and making us more susceptible to illness. Stress produces the hormone cortisol which impairs the function of infection-fighting T-cells. To de-stress and stay healthy, we must exercise for 30 minutes a day or practice deep breathing and meditation— all these can diminish the effects of stress.
Excess Alcohol: Regularly overindulging in alcoholic drinks can have a negative effect on our immune system. Drinking too much can wear away the linings of our mouth and oesophagus. It also makes our white blood cells less effective at attacking harmful bacteria and lowers our body’s ability to produce cells that identify and kill bacteria and viruses.
Smoking: damages the first lines of defence, the linings of our mouth and our nose, which are actually part of our immune system. This makes us more susceptible to cold and flu. Our lungs can be very badly affected by smoking. Coughs, colds, wheezing and asthma are just the start. Smoking can cause fatal diseases such as pneumonia and lung cancer. Smoking causes 84% of deaths from lung cancer and 83% of deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Not Drinking Enough Water: Our body needs water for every function it performs and so does our immune system. It needs proper hydration to function. Water flushes out harmful toxins and helps our body fight off infection. Plus, it affects our energy levels and even the quality of our sleep. Drinking 3l of water regularly helps one stay well hydrated and healthy.
High Sugar Intake: Sugary snacks are also bad for our immune system. The blood cells need vitamin C to fight off viruses and because glucose (from sugar) is so similar in structure to vitamin C, when we ingest too much sugar it actually starts competing with vitamin C for space in our immune cells. Thereby limiting our intake of sugar can help to keep our immune system fighting fit. To satisfy your sweet tooth, eat a piece of dark chocolate or dates or sweets made from jaggery.
Frequent Use of Supplements: A proper balanced diet provides us with all the essential nutrients. We should opt for supplements only when excessive deficiency is seen and it must be stopped after having a prescribed dosage. Too much of supplements may interfere with normal bodily functions, leading to side effects such as nausea, diarrhoea, stomach cramps, gastrointestinal issues, fatigue and probably mild nerve damage.

If the above-mentioned habits have been a part of your daily lifestyle, you need to stop indulging in them now! It’s time to make a complete lifestyle change, build immunity and focus more on preventive healthcare.

Do leave your thoughts in the comments below! For more topics and information on coronavirus, building immunity, home workouts and nutrition, tune in to GOQii Play.

#BeTheForce

December 30, 2019 By Jigna Sheth Leave a Comment

6 Tips to Help You Form and Stick to Resolutions

How often do we wait till the end of the year to make “resolutions” and end up not sticking to them? If you were to review your year basis the resolutions you made at the start, how close are you to achieving that goal? Do you find it difficult to form and stick to resolutions? Well, don’t worry! That’s where we come in.

A lot of resolutions fail because they’re a tad bit unrealistic. A resolution may be wrong for one of three main reasons:

It’s a resolution created based on what someone else (or society) is telling you to change.
It’s too vague.
You don’t have a realistic plan for achieving your resolution.

The key to form and stick to resolutions is planning a SMART one.

Points to Keep in Mind to Form & Stick to Resolutions

Understanding Your Goals: At the end of the year, there is renewed optimism as there is high spirit among people to set new goals for the New Year. The achievable goals are those which are specific, measurable, relevant and time-bound (SMART). The first step to behavior change is to clearly understand what “it” is.
Start Small: To do “something big or to do nothing” – this frame of mind rarely works when it comes to New Year’s resolutions. If you’ve never exercised before, it’s unlikely you will suddenly start working out for an hour every single day. Instead, start with small and attainable goals, such as going to the gym three days a week or short daily walks. Once this becomes a habit, you can tack-on larger goals.
Make One Change at a Time: Setting multiple resolutions at a time will not give desired results, thus we should go at a steady pace.
Make a Monetary Commitment: Financial incentives plays an important role to stick to the resolutions, either you get a reward for fulfilling your commitments or you pay from your own pocket for not following it and see others enjoying their rewards.
Keep a Log: A daily activity log should be maintained and updated to track progress. This is one of the easiest and effective ways to make your resolutions stick. The more we monitor our performance, the more likely we are to achieving the goals.
Have Patience: We must set realistic goals and realize that progress is never uni-directional. Some people see rapid gains in the beginning and hit resistance at a later stage. For others, initial progress may be painfully slow, but then they suddenly achieve rapid breakthroughs. Making lasting changes takes time. Thus patience is the “key to success”.

A Resolution is a promise a person makes. Regardless of what resolution you commit to, the goal is to improve life in the coming year. We hope the above suggestions help you form and stick to resolutions! Here’s wishing you a happy, healthy and successful new year!

#BeTheForce

November 14, 2019 By Jigna Sheth 7 Comments

Manage Diabetes With These Lifestyle and Nutritional Tips

By this point, we are all well aware of the silent killer known as Diabetes. It is the leading cause of blindness, kidney failure, neurological and cardiovascular disorders. Diabetes Mellitus is a condition in which our body’s ability to utilize glucose from the blood lowers down. It is a disorder of carbohydrate metabolism characterized by impaired ability of the body to produce or respond to insulin. Glucose is the main source of energy to the body’s cells and insulin is a hormone (which is produced by pancreas) that controls the level of glucose in the blood.

Types of Diabetes

Type 1 Diabetes referred to as Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus, is a condition in which the pancreas produce little or no insulin. Such individuals require daily insulin injections. This type of diabetes generally affects children or adolescents.
Type 2 Diabetes referred to as Non-Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus, is a condition in which the insulin production may be normal or even high but the insulin produced is not as effective as normal insulin. This type of diabetes generally affects overweight or obese adults.
Gestational Diabetes develops during pregnancy and usually disappears after giving birth. Women with Gestational Diabetes are at a higher risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes later in life.

Factors Which Cause Diabetes

In order to manage Diabetes or eliminate it from our lives, we must understand the factors that cause it.

Obesity: Being overweight or obese has been identified as the number one risk factor for Diabetes. In fact, 80% of people diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes are overweight.
Cigarette Smoking: Cigarette smoke elevates the level of inflammation in your body. This increases the risk of diabetes in smokers as opposed to non-smokers. Smoking can also elevate the level of blood glucose in your body and hence, worsen your insulin resistance.
Physical Inactivity: can increase your risk of diabetes, even if you are not overweight or obese. On the other hand, in case you are overweight or obese – physical activity can help you reduce your risk of diabetes.

Tips to Manage Diabetes

Medication: The first line of action to treat type 2 diabetes is anti-diabetic medications, and/or oral or IV insulin administration. Generally, insulin therapy is prescribed for type 1 diabetes. However, only medicines will not be able to control your diabetes. There are several other attached conditions, which we will discuss further.
Quality Sleep: is extremely important to effectively manage diabetes. Reduced sleep or insomnia can result in hormone fluctuations which in turn leads to a spike in the blood glucose levels, leading to weight gain.
Regular Examination: If possible, monitor blood glucose levels regularly in order to ensure that everything is under control. Medication, stress, physical activity, other illnesses and the foods we eat can all impact our blood glucose levels.
Stress Management: Physical or mental stress can aggravate diabetes. The degree at which stress impacts our blood glucose levels varies from one person to another. Studies show that almost all kinds of stress leads to a blood sugar spike.
Regular Exercise: not only has a multifold impact on controlling and even reversing diabetes, but also helps in burning fat and maintaining an optimum weight. Practicing any kind of exercise for at least thirty minutes a day can improve insulin sensitivity, help in maintaining blood glucose levels and even diminish the risk of developing heart diseases. Brisk walking, running, cycling, dancing, swimming and biking are some of the recommended exercises that can elevate heart rate and control diabetes.
Quit Smoking: Smoking increases the risk of diabetes as it narrows blood vessels, raises blood glucose levels and leads to inflammations.

Nutritional Strategy to Manage Diabetes

Try these nutritional tips and strategies to manage Diabetes effectively

The distribution of carbohydrates, fats and protein in the diet should be such that it maintains blood glucose and reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases
Replacing saturated fat with healthy fats such as avocados, nuts and olive oil can reduce insulin resistance and consume lean proteins.
Take small frequent meals at regular intervals. Avoid large jumbo-sized meals.
Keep a watch on portion size as having too much food can also lead to weight gain and related problems.
1 tsp of overnight soaked Methi seeds or Methi powder should be consumed every day in the morning or can be added with food.
Consume more complex carbohydrates than simple sugars as they breakdown and release glucose slowly in the bloodstream.
Fiber rich food like whole fruits, whole cereals, whole pulses, salads, sprouts, and green leafy vegetables to be added to the daily diet. Be sure to pick whole fruits over juices.
Avoid prepackaged, processed and sugar sweetened beverages completely.
Recent study shows consumption of Moringa Leaves, fruits, seeds or powder lowers Blood Sugar levels which in turn helps in reducing Cardiovascular Diseases. Roots of Moringa are to be avoided because of the toxic content.
Glycemic Index (GI) of foods is important in deciding whether to include them in the diet or not. Low GI foods are to be consumed to maintain blood glucose levels.

Food Selection As Per Glycemic Index

Food Groups	Foods With Low GI (Permitted in prescribed amount)	Foods With High GI (To be restricted)
Cereals	Whole wheat flour, wheat bran, bajra, jowar, oats, ragi, dalia, brown rice, barley, whole wheat pasta, multigrain & whole wheat bread.	Polished rice, white bread, Sago, maida, noodles, pasta, corn flakes, puffed rice.
Pulses	All pulses can be consumed moderately.	–
Vegetables	Green leafy vegetables, tomatoes, cucumber, radish, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, mushroom, onion, green beans, carrot, green peas, capsicum, gourds, parwal etc.	Potato, Beet root, sweet potato, yam, pumpkin, colocasia (arbi).
Fruits	Apple, guava, orange, sweet lime, peach, papaya, pineapple, pomegranate, muskmelon etc.	Dates, watermelon, plum, grapes, banana, chickoo, mango, custard apple, canned fruits.
Nuts & oilseeds	All nuts & oilseeds can be consumed but in moderate proportion.	–
Milk & milk products	Skim milk, cow’s milk, curd, buttermilk.	Buffalo milk, full fat milk, cheese, cream.
Fats & oils	MUFA-PUFA-SFA in the ratio 1:1:1 to be consumed but not more than 4 tsp/day. MUFA- groundnut, mustard, linseed, olive, rice bran oil PUFA- sunflower, safflower, soyabean, corn oil SFA- ghee, butter, coconut oil	Vanaspati, Margarine, Mayonnaise.
Sugars	–	Sugar, honey, jaggery, sugarcane.
Snacks & desserts	Roasted chana, makhana, popcorn (low fat), American corn, air fry snacks, steamed snacks.	Ice cream, cold drink, pastries, patties, waffles, doughnuts, potato wafers, muffins, all fried and baked items

Diabetes is a disease which can be controlled if we are fully aware of its complications and by following strict dietary and lifestyle protocol. Our priority should be to monitor blood glucose, blood pressure and cholesterol levels and ensure they are in control on a periodic basis to avoid complications in the future.

We hope this article helps you make a shift to a healthier lifestyle and manage diabetes effectively! Leave your thoughts in the comments below!

#BeTheForce