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December 24, 2024 By Luke Coutinho 3 Comments

Holiday Health Tip: It’s All In The Chew!

Holiday Health Tip: It's All In The ChewIt’s precisely between this week and January 1st when people tend to put on most of their weight. There are two reasons for this – The crazy festive season filled with weddings and parties followed by Christmas, New Year’s Eve and the tendency to let loose during this time, with the justification that they’ll start fresh with ‘healthy new year resolutions’ in January.

  • What if I told you that you could enjoy this season and it wouldn’t impact your weight?
  • What if I told you snacking on a cookie or dessert occasionally wouldn’t effect your weight goals?
  • What if you could eat rice, roti (Indian flat bread), and bread at lunch and dinner without it impacting your weight or health?
  • What if you could enjoy this festive season, have loads of fun, eat your favorite foods and still maintain your health and weight?

The human body is a miracle, and we are living examples of this miracle. The way our brain and body function, blood flow, smell, feelings, emotions, the ability to recover from the deadliest of diseases and the ability of our cells to heal and repair – is nothing short of extraordinary. Every day, trillions of cells in our body work non-stop to fight off germs and bacteria that could otherwise make us very sick or even threaten our lives. This miracle is called immunity.

Our stomach produces enough acid to dissolve a razor blade. Such is the power of our digestive system. So what’s an ice-cream, chocolate bar, or cookie going to do when it enters our stomachs? Our body is made to digest even the toughest foods. Red meat, for instance, is hard to digest, but the body will break it down. Vegetarians don’t escape either—cellulose in vegetables is extremely difficult to break down, but the body eventually does the job. This is one reason vegetarians may experience more flatulence than non-vegetarians.

The body can break down meats, vegetables and desserts alike! The secret lies in the ‘chew’. Food tastes so good because you’re meant to enjoy it—slow down and savor it, not just rush it to your stomach.

How Does Chewing Thoroughly Help? 

Chewing your food thoroughly is actually the first step in the complex process of digestion, and if you compromise this process, a common mistake, it can affect your overall health.

We have teeth not just to smile for a pretty picture but primarily to tear down and break up food into small bits. Saliva mixes with these small bits, further softening them.

Let’s dive into the basics:

Why Should You Chew Your Food Thoroughly? 

When you chew, more saliva gets produced and your saliva contains enzymes that break down FATS and CARBS. Yes!!! Digestion starts in the MOUTH! By the time your food reaches your stomach, it’s already processed by enzymes, making it easier for your stomach to complete the digestion process.

  • You feel light
  • You feel full for a longer period of time.
  • You reduce flatulence, gas, indigestion and burping.
  • You learn to savor and enjoy the taste of your food.
  • Your body absorbs all the goodness of your food (vitamins, minerals) better.
  • You eat just the amount your body needs to maintain or achieve a healthy weight.

Imagine all the times you’ve gobbled down your food. You’re left with undigested chunks sitting in your stomach, causing gas, discomfort, and increasing the chances of food converting to fat.

Chew your food. Enjoy a dessert, but eat it slowly and savor it. Over time, you’ll learn not to overindulge. The more you chew your food, the cleaner you keep your intestines, stomach and colon because the body can cleanse itself more effectively when digestion happens correctly. Say goodbye to constipation, fatigue, and migraines.

Try This Exercise Today!

At your next meal, eat slowly. Take a spoonful of food, chew it several times, savor the flavor and taste, then swallow. Put your spoon down before taking the next bite.

You’ll find yourself getting fuller quickly and will naturally eat less. This habit helps you save calories over time. Eventually, you’ll serve yourself smaller portions—fewer calories mean better health, a longer life, and a healthy weight.

Take one serving spoon less at every meal, chew thoroughly, and eat slowly. You’ll find that this is enough. All these saved portions add up to a significant calorie reduction, helping you lose fat and feel healthier.

Most diseases are caused by overeating. Even if you think your portions are appropriate, eating too quickly can lead to overconsumption. Chewing thoroughly ensures you eat mindfully, eliminating the need for restrictive diets.

Meal times are sacred—they’re your personal moments to nourish and care for your body. Respect this time, as it’s essential for keeping you healthy and strong.

This is a lifestyle change and if you master it, you can enjoy all your favorite foods in moderation.

We hope this article helps you make that lifestyle change. For more tips like this, check out Healthy Reads or ask a GOQii Coach by subscribing for Personalised Health Coaching here.

#BeTheForce

August 13, 2024 By Luke Coutinho 6 Comments

Why Your Body Needs Curcumin or Turmeric Extract!

CurcuminMany mails, white papers and journals have been written on the power of turmeric extract, now termed as ‘Yellow Gold’ in the west. The fascinating part is that the consumption of Curcumin has been linked to positive benefits in almost every possible disease or ailment one can think of. From cancer to arthritis, to the possible prevention of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.

How Curcumin Eases Disease

Cardiovascular Disease
Numerous studies show that it may have a protective role in cardiovascular diseases. Since cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death, one can argue that everyone should include turmeric in their diet, or perhaps take a turmeric supplement. One study discusses how the antioxidant effects of Curcumin may prevent diabetic cardiovascular complications.

The same study shows that the anti-thrombotic, anti-proliferative, and anti-inflammatory effects of Curcumin and the effect of it decreasing the serum cholesterol level may protect against the pathological changes occurring with atherosclerosis.

Another study demonstrates how dietary Curcumin is effective at inhibiting maladaptive cardiac repair and preserving cardiac function after ischemia and reperfusion. It also goes on to say that it has potential as a treatment for patients who have had a heart attack.

Diabetes
This, of course, also ties into cardiovascular health but there have been separate studies which show how Curcumin can help with diabetes. One study involved people in a pre-diabetic population who were taking Curcumin (or a placebo) for 9 months. The study concluded by showing that it significantly lowered the number of pre-diabetic individuals who eventually developed Type-2 diabetes. The same study also showed that it appeared to improve overall function of beta cells. Another study concluded that Curcumin supplementation could improve diabetes-induced endothelial dysfunction significantly. Yet, another study demonstrated how it attenuates diabetic neuropathic pain.

Asthma and Allergies
A few studies have shown that it might be beneficial for people with asthma and allergies. One study showed that Curcumin treatments markedly attenuated the inflammation in asthma by regulating T regulatory/Th17 balance. The findings supported the possible use of Curcumin as a therapeutic drug for patients with allergic asthma. Another study showed that it alleviates the pathological changes of chronic asthma, and might be a promising therapy for asthma in the future

Skin Diseases
It can even help with certain skin conditions! One study discusses how it protects the skin by quenching free radicals and reducing inflammation. The same study also mentioned how it reduces wound-healing time, improved collagen deposition and increased fibroblast and vascular density in wounds, thereby enhancing both normal and impaired wound-healing. The study concluded by suggesting that Curcumin might be a potent nontoxic agent for treating skin diseases. Another study suggests that Oral Curcumin might be beneficial in the treatment of moderate to severe psoriasis, although it concluded by stating that large placebo-controlled studies are necessary before recommending Oral Curcumin as a psoriasis treatment.

Autoimmunity
To no surprise, because it can help greatly with inflammation, this herb can be extremely valuable in the treatment of certain autoimmune conditions, including Graves’ Disease and Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis. Thyroid cancer is the most common type of cancer when it comes to the endocrine system. A recent study reported that Curcumin inhibits multiple metastasis steps of K1 papillary thyroid cancer cells. These findings showed that it might be effective for the treatment of aggressive papillary thyroid carcinomas.

Other Benefits
There are even more potential benefits of taking Curcumin. One study discussed how dietary Curcumin is a strong candidate for use in the prevention or treatment of major disabling age-related neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and stroke. Another study suggested that it has enormous potential in the prevention and therapy of cancer. It might also be useful as a treatment for ulcerative colitis as well as benefit people with osteoarthritis.

Want to know more about Curcumin or Turmeric Extract? Ask a GOQii Coach by subscribing for Personalised Health Coaching here.

For more articles on nutrition, tune in to Healthy Reads.

#BeTheForce

Disclaimer: The information provided in this blog is for general awareness and educational purposes only. It is not intended to replace professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider for personalised medical guidance or concerns related to your health.

July 16, 2024 By Luke Coutinho 2 Comments

Overcome Worry – The Biggest Obstacle To Weight Loss & Your Health!

Overcome worryDo you eat food peacefully or with worry on your mind? Do you exercise happily or with worry on your mind? Do you also go to bed worried? Are you low on energy through the day and only the thought of outside food or entertainment can cheer you up? Are you unable to overcome worry?

Do you accept defeat when:

  • Your weight does not budge
  • You have a restless night sleep
  • You give in to food cravings
  • Your friends around you seem to lose weight faster or look better than you

A roadside advertisement for a certain brand of motor oil read “A clean engine always delivers power”…

So will a mind, free of negative thoughts, and very positive or in other words, a clean mind will deliver power! Therefore, flush out your negative thoughts, give yourself a clean mental engine, remembering that a clean mind, can always deliver power.

Why You Need To Overcome Worry

Overcome worry - obstacle to weight lossMost of our obstacles to weight loss and health are mental in character. You might say, “mine are not mental, they are real”, perhaps so, but your attitude towards them is clearly mental. “Worry” is the most subtle and destructive of all human diseases. Through “worry”, we have the dangerous ability to manifest diseases, stress, failure, defeat, anger, frustration and depression.

Do not accept defeat so easily. When your weight does not budge, be patient and instead of giving up, be more consistent with the things you should be doing to lose weight. It took you months or years to pile on fat, what makes you think it will go in few weeks without some sacrifice and effort?

Are you being honest with yourself when it comes to your food, exercise and eating outside?

Ask yourself, if the defeat that you have accepted is because you keep comparing yourself or your body to those around you? Your friends? Your social circle? If yes, then you will never be happy with the progress you make, you will get further depressed and you will fail. Have you even seen any two actors with the same body type? How can you ever have the same body as someone else then?

Comparing ourselves with others is the most drastic mistake one can make when it comes to our health or weight. Your benchmark for progress should be you and what you did yesterday, compared to what you will do today and tomorrow. Keep getting better, getting consistent and that will get you to your goal and peace of mind.

If you struggle to sleep, filter your thoughts and your mind. Easy to say, but hard to do. However, you must make the effort if you want to sleep well again. Worry stems of our insecurity, greed, fear, low confidence, guilt and other factors. Sometimes, you have to let go and if you don’t, your health will make that decision for you.

One of the best exercises to combat insecurities is to count your blessings

overcome worry - gratitudeTake a paper and write down all the things that you have and are grateful for. This should come from your heart. When you are done with this, your problems and insecurities will suddenly seem less. When you begin to eliminate worry, your energy levels automatically increase.

You see, we have over 60,000 thoughts running through our heads everyday. So it’s difficult to focus on what we have (which is usually enough) and instead fill our minds with chaos, which in turn stems worry and negativity. This causes stress and we all know by now that stress causes disease, a weak immune system, and is the biggest – I repeat ‘THE BIGGEST’ obstacle to fat loss and sleep.

Don’t see yoga or breathing as just an exercise. Use that one hour or 45 minutes to actually reflect, count your blessings, pray or analyze the goodness in your life. It is being proved today that the best way to cure a disease or a pain, is not to focus on it, instead focus on everything else that’s going well in your life.

To reach our goal, just have faith. All religions preach this and most people fail to follow or believe in that. Use a day or a weekend in a month for you to weed out negative thoughts, detox your mind, relax your body and count your blessings. Worry is a down payment on a problem that may NEVER occur and worry has never been known to solve a problem.

We hope this article helps you stress less and overcome worry! To know more about how you can beat stress, check out Healthy Reads or ask a GOQii Coach for further guidance by subscribing for Personalised Health Coaching here.

#BeTheForce

Disclaimer: The information provided in this blog is for general awareness and educational purposes only. It is not intended to replace professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider for personalised medical guidance or concerns related to your health.

June 29, 2024 By Luke Coutinho 3 Comments

All you want to know about Inflammation

When you think pain, think inflammation.
 
Inflammation is a good thing. It’s your body’s way of rising up to fight out germs/bacteria/infections, heal bruises when you fall, heal torn ligaments/tissues/tendons etc.
 Once it does its job of fighting out these invaders or foreign organisms, the inflammation should reduce back down to normal.
 The problem arises when that does not happen.

Have a torn ligament or muscle pull that you are struggling to heal? Seen the best doctors, therapists, etc. and still not fixed? Struggling with arthritis and joint pain? 
Check your CRP (C-Reactive protein) levels and focus on reducing inflammation. The cure is in reducing inflammation.

Many of us live with chronic inflammation and that’s dangerous. It’s also one of the reason people struggle to lose weight, experience excruciating joint pains,
 age faster than normal, 
feel tired through the day, 
higher chances of cancer and heart disease, suffer from 
Fibromalgia/Headaches/Migraines, 
have higher chances of Alzheimer’s/Dementia, struggle with diabetes,
 feel depressed and low.

Silent inflammation like the ones described above can destroy your nerves and cellular health, suppressing and weakening your immune system, leading to deadly diseases like cancer, etc.



What’s scary is the fact that you can be extremely healthy and fit, but silent inflammation could be eating into you from inside, which is one of the many explainable reasons why cancer or heart attacks can strike down a healthy and young human being.
 Checking cholesterol levels, Vitamin D3, B12, SGOT, and SGTP is imperative, but what most people miss out on is checking their CRP levels (C-Reactive protein). This is an important protein level to check, and a simple blood test will cover that for you. This level will tell you volumes about the amount of inflammation you have in your body.

In my years of experience, what stands out in a cancer report of a person is an increase in CRP levels and white blood cells, and the immediate action is to reduce inflammation through food and lifestyle change.
 Diseases breathe in inflamed environments, in environments that are acidic, and in environments where there is less oxygen supply to the cells.

Overtraining causes inflammation.
 Vigorous exercise, inconsistent exercise, and high-intensity training that is not planned for your body type will make your CRP levels soar and kill your immunity, which is why many trainers ask their clients to take a Vitamin C and E post workouts.

Running marathons without proper nutrition causes massive inflammation.
 Stress causes inflammation (chronic stress).
 Improper nutrition (high-fat foods, sugar, artificial sweeteners, doughnuts, white sugar, aerated drinks, salty foods, packaged foods), and smoking causes inflammation. (I’ve seen CRP levels fall in a smoker’s blood report within 10 days of kicking the butt)

. 

How to keep your inflammation in check:

Smart and moderate exercise such as meditation and controlling your stress and BP levels, nuts and seeds, 
green leafy veggies and fruits,
 good fats (like nuts, olive oil, coconut oil) helps in keeping your inflammation under check. Finally, I should not be saying this, but it has been proven that a small amount of alcohol can actually lower CRP levels. Vitamin D3
 and Curcumin (turmeric extract) are some of the best spice-based inflammation fighters.

Understanding and managing inflammation is crucial for maintaining good health and preventing chronic diseases. By incorporating anti-inflammatory foods, regular exercise, and stress management into your routine, you can significantly reduce inflammation and improve your overall well-being.

We hope this article helps you. For further information or guidance, reach out to our certified experts by subscribing to GOQii’s Personalised Health Coaching here.

#BeTheForce 

Disclaimer: The information provided in this blog is for general awareness and educational purposes only. It is not intended to replace professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider for personalised medical guidance or concerns related to your health.

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