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About Trishala Chopra

Dr Trishala Chopra believes in fitness not because she is a lifestyle coach but because she has personally got into a fitness regime when she was constantly being ridiculed for being on the heavier side with extreme acne issues. The ridicule and criticisms were the tipping points for her to change herself and today she is glad she has reduced by more than 50%. By qualification she is a Doctor of naturopathy/alternative medicines, a post-graduate in Nutraceuticals and both these degrees has helped her gain extra knowledge about all fields in the Health Care industry. She has additional skills in the areas of Therapeutic nutrition and Ayurveda. Her fitness mantra is practice what you preach. She believes that for a healthy lifestyle, it is very important to have a healthy body and mind. This according to her can be attained through balanced nutrition and proper exercise. As a lifestyle coach, she helps individuals achieve their targets with respect to nutrition and exercise.

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Vitamins that are essentially important for Women

vitaminsEveryone has heard about different vitamins and why they are essential for the human body. However, very few people know which vitamins are specifically required by the body. Certain Vitamins are absolutely necessary for women to maintain overall health, and it’s important to obtain these in the daily recommended intake (DRI) amounts. These vitamins can be acquired through good food choices.

Let’s explore the vitamins required by a woman’s body!

Here is the list of vitamins necessary  for women to live a healthy life:-

(1) Vitamin A

  • Obtained in the form of beta-carotene from food, which is then converted into vitamin A in our body.
  • Helps in maintaining good eyesight and prevents deficiency complications such as night blindness, xeropthalmia etc.
  • Found in antioxidant-rich foods such as carrots, apricots etc.

(2) Vitamin C

  • Also known as ascorbic acid
  • Aids in healing
  • Helps in the formation of RBC’s (Red Blood Cells)
  • It is required by anaemic women
  • Boosts the brain chemical, noradrenaline
  • Vitamin C levels decreases with age, and since it’s a water-soluble vitamin, it cannot be stored in the body, so regular intake is very important
  • Found in fruits such as oranges, grapes, kiwi, lemons etc.

(3) Vitamin E

  • Also known as tocopherol and sometimes, tocotrienols
  • Slows signs of aging
  • Helps in maintaining healthy skin
  • Found in foods such as sunflower oil, safflower oil, hazelnuts etc

(4) Vitamin B6

  • A water-soluble vitamin
  • Crucially important
  • Also known as pyridoxine
  • Helps in boosting metabolism
  • Found in bananas, chickpeas, oatmeal etc

(5) Vitamin B12

  • Also known as cyanocobalamin
  • Boost metabolism
  • Aids in Erythropoiesis (the making of RBCs)
  • Animal sources contain vitamin B12
  • Red meat is the richest source

(6) Folic acid

  • Very important during pregnancy
  • Helps in forming a healthy brain and spinal cord
  • Prevents birth defects such as Spinal Bifida
  • Found in spinach, dark green leafy vegetables, asparagus, citrus fruits, fortified cereals, etc
  • External supplementation is recommended during pregnancy

(7) Vitamin D

  • Aids in the absorption of calcium and phosphorous
  • Extremely important for postmenopausal women
  • A lack of Vitamin D can lead to osteopenia and eventually osteoporosis
  • Sunlight is the best source of Vitamin D

(8) Vitamin K

  • Keeps bones strong
  • Helps in blood clotting, which in turn prevents excessive bleeding
  • Good sources include green leafy veggies, soyabean oil, fish oil, etc

Get yourself checked for your Vitamin level and make sure to meet the DRI of these essential Vitamins to maintain overall health.

Ensuring adequate intake of essential vitamins can greatly benefit women’s health, enhancing energy levels, immunity, and overall well-being. Remember, a balanced diet is key to achieving these daily vitamin needs. If this article helped you, let us know in the comments below! For more on nutrition and women’s health, check out our Healthy Reads or speak to a certified expert 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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Is DOMS stopping you from workout?

powercouple_rotatorThe moment I recommend intense workout to my players, they start saying this:-

“My body is paining, the workout which we did yesterday was not for me”

“I guess I did wrong workout, my body is paining today”

“I guess I pushed it beyond my capacity, is that the way it should be?”

In none of the above cases my players said, let me workout today and see if it is still there. Everyone says that I just cannot do the workout today, I need a break. So a question arises here is, should you workout with so called post workout pain?

Let me clear out some facts!

Technically, Soreness is of 2 types:-

(1) Acute muscle soreness

– Which is felt shortly after the workout but it disappears in few hours.

(2) The pain or the numbness which you feel post workout is not a pain. It is DOMS!

DOMS – Delayed onset muscle soreness.

– DOMS is typically begins within 12-24 hours after exercise and it can last up to 72 hours.

couple-workout

What happens during DOMS?

DOMS develop as a result of microscopic damage to muscle fibers which are involved in the type of exercise you are doing.

This damage can be because of the excess stress on particular part of the body during the exercise regime. DOMS is basically a side effect because of damage to the repairing process of the body.

Does lactic acid play an important role in DOMS?

Well, I have heard this quite often that the pain in my body is because of lactic acid accumulation. Just to get the facts out lactic acid does have an important role in acute soreness but not DOMS.

It has absolutely nothing to with your DOMS.

What causes DOMS?

Activities which leads to lengthening of muscles with excessive force leads to DOMS.

These are the most common examples of activities causing DOMS :-

– Jumping exercises

– Aerobic exercises

– Jogging

– Crossfit

– Strength training exercises

– High intensity interval training

Severity of DOMS completely depends upon the type and intensity of force applied on that muscle during that activity. Higher number of repetitions causes more DOMS then lower number of repetitions.

Can DOMS occur to everyone?

Well, yes DOMS can occur to everyone who is exercising. It is a myth that DOMS can occur to only those people who are new to exercises.

It can happen to people who are working out since ages as well but, the only difference will be the severity of DOMS.

If you are exercising since long time, your body gets adapted to it as a result your performance will not be affected completely.

If you keep training yourself for the same activity for years, you become less susceptible to DOMS in that particular exercise or activity.

Is soreness the only cause of DOMS?

Well no. Here are some most common symptoms of DOMS other than soreness:-

– Swelling in the area of extreme pain

– Stiffness of joints

– Tenderness

– Reduced strength

Should you workout the next day with soreness?

Most of players say, they just can’t workout because of the pain. If the pain is extreme and unbearable it is okay not to do extreme exercise but, it completely okay to do some light workouts or something as simple as stretching.

If you try and workout the next day, the symptoms of DOMS will start vanishing while you are performing the activity but there are chances that they might reoccur post workout (In your recovery process).

Don’t work out on the same muscle groups after DOMS. For example, if you are having severe soreness post jogging then you can workout on your upper body the next day. There is absolutely no need for – NO WORKOUT!

If the symptoms are extremely unbearable and excruciating then yes, do not workout.

How to ease DOMS?

  • To reduce the symptoms, apply ice pack on the area where it is paining
  • Gentle massage

These are just to reduce the symptoms but the complete healing can take place only after the exact diagnosis.

How to prevent DOMS?

If you undergo severe DOMS on your first day of your workout you probably have might done something wrong.

Check for these points before doing your next workout:-

* Proper form:- You need to be extremely careful while doing exercises especially the one with weights.

* Progression should be extremely personalised:- It should always be started at a slow pace and it should be light with least repetitions (2 different people cannot do the same intensity exercises – It should be personalised)

* Intensity plays a very important role:- It should be started with low intensity depending upon the muscle strength and then it should be gradually increased.

Once you start taking care about these points and train yourself, your body will start preparing itself for the same exercise in future.

Remember the old adage that says there is NO GAIN, WITHOUT PAIN!

DOMS cannot be completely avoided but, the severity can be reduced by taking care about the points mentioned above!

– Light pain cannot stop you from working out.

– Sometimes working out the next day makes you to recover faster!

So the crux of this entire article is, please do not skip workouts because of your soreness! Go ahead and do some light exercises or target a different set of exercises!

We hope this article helps you better understand DOMS and how to manage it. Do you have any tips for dealing with post-workout soreness? Let us know in the comments below. For more interesting tips on fitness and recovery, check out Healthy Reads or speak to a certified expert by subscribing to GOQii’s Personalised Health Coaching here.

#BeTheForce

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Should it be a Hot or a Cold shower after a workout?

Man Shower

What’s the first thing you’d like to do after getting home from the gym? Or after a home workout, a trek and the likes?

“Drink water!” – Says my mind!

“Please go and take a bath!”- Shouts my body!

Obviously! Who likes to sit around with sweat all over! However, the question arises if to take a shower with cold water or hot water? More often than not I find people saying take a bath- with a cold shower as it makes them feel better!

But, did you know that what you choose, why you choose and what happens after you choose your bathing water has a lot to do with good health!

Let me explain this better by getting a little technical and a little scientific. Many trainers and fitness experts feel that cold shower or ice bath is the best after a sweaty workout.

Cold shower after a sweaty and hot gym is a shock to the system. The immediate drop in the body temperature directs the blood flow towards the vital organs which leaves the muscles alone to repair and manage with the lactic acid accumulation which has happened. When this happens, vasoconstriction takes place (Vasoconstriction is the constriction of blood vessels which increases the blood pressure) which reduces the temperature of the damaged tissue

Cold water prevents the swelling and typical pain which sometimes happens after any strenuous workouts. Cold water shower works in the same way as the ice pack will work for a post workout injury. This also helps in increasing the blood circulation in the body.

Hotvs Cold

If you have any post workout pain or soreness- Go ahead with cold water shower for some relief.

But, there are some do’s and don’ts while you take a cold-water shower. People with high blood pressure issues should avoid taking post workout cold water shower. Water can be at room temperature; extremely cold water is also not a good option.

Well, the argument doesn’t end here. While some experts believe that hot water shower is better than a cold shower. Let’s check the theory behind what hot water does to your body after a workout!

If cold water causes vasoconstriction as mentioned above, hot water causes vasodilation (Dilates the blood vessels which decreases the blood pressure).

Hot water shower stimulates the blood flow to the skin and helps in soothing the muscles. When the blood flow increases to the muscles, the lactic accumulation disperses out reducing the post workout soreness and reduces the uneasiness. As far as it is a soreness pain; hot water shower can work but if at all there is a post workout injury and the tissue has got damaged then please go for an ice pack and cold-water shower. Hot water might make you relax but ice will actually start healing the damaged tissue.

When I say hot water, it doesn’t mean boiling hot water! The temperature of the water can be slightly more than the room temperature which gives you soothing relief.

The argument of whether hot or cold water will always remain. Basis, the above explanation choose what suits you the best and go ahead with that option!

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 

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How to fight against the common illnesses with natural remedies!  

home remedies for common illnesses

Common illnesses like cold and cough, fever, headaches can be even more common than we can think!  We have no practical solution for these illnesses other than popping over the counter (OTC) pills to suppress the symptoms and waiting for them to reoccur.

If that one pill doesn’t work, they pop up the second one and after the second one doesn’t work they end up in doctor’s cabin asking for some more medicines. Taking these medicines over and over again is simply abusing our bodies. Side effects of the medicines are no less which gives us a chance to try and change our approach.

Remember how our grandmothers resorted to old traditional home remedies for better health? Those remedies are now being used as a part of naturopathy treatment. Before reaching out to these over the counter pills, let’s try and combine our herbs, spices and right diet to fight these illnesses.

Let’s understand each common illnesses one by one:-

  • Common cold

I am sure each one of us has suffered from common cold and can completely relate to its symptoms. It is perhaps the most common illness in the world. There was a research where data was collated to find out maximum sick leave reason and the data revealed that common cold topped the charts. There is no permanent cure for common cold.

Well, I have seen people taking antibiotics for getting rid of common cold. Antibiotics can do nothing for a common cold. If you are prescribed one then you might as well ask your doctor to give you something else because antibiotics only work against infections caused by bacteria but common cold is caused by a virus.

There is no permanent cure for common cold. There are more than 200 strains of viruses and it is difficult for the body to build up immunity against every strain which is why you see common cold hitting you always!

Symptoms of a common cold:

  • A severe headache
  • A sore throat
  • Fever
  • Congestion
  • Watery eyes
  • A cough
  • Nasal congestion
  • Sneezing

How to prevent the common cold?

(i) Include antioxidant-rich foods in your diet

  • It is important to boost your immunity and Vitamin C can act as an excellent immune-boosting nutrient.
  • Include raw fruits and vegetables which has PRANIC energy in your diet.

(ii) Include Bioflavonoids rich foods in your diet

  • Bioflavonoids were once known as Vitamin P.
  • These compounds help in fighting against the common cold.
  • Lemon, sweet lime, chillies, green pepper, grapes are good sources of bioflavonoids.

Natural remedies to cure a common cold:

(i) Ingredients:

  • Lime juice
  • Cayenne pepper
  • Manuka or organic honey
  • Water

Method:

  • Dilute 2 tbsp of lime juice + Pinch of cayenne pepper + 1 tsp of manuka honey in a ½ cup of warm water.

Dosage:

  • Have it early morning on empty stomach to prevent cold.
  • Take this concoction 3 times a day before breakfast, lunch and dinner if you are suffering from cold.

(ii)  Ingredients:

  • Fresh ginger juice
  • Fresh garlic juice
  • Turmeric powder
  • Elaichi or Cardamom

    Method:

  • Brew 2 tbsp of fresh ginger juice + 1 tbsp of fresh garlic juice + pinch of turmeric powder + 2 elaichi (cardamom) pods in 200 ml of water
  • Boil this decoction and then simmer it for 2 minutes.
  • Strain the water and add 1 tsp of a mishri or khadi shaker, drink this decoction warm

  Dosage :

  • 3 times a day till cold and cough subsides

(2) Fever

In my opinion, fever is the most misunderstood common issue. Everybody has a different definition of fever. Whenever your body temperature crosses 98.6 F, chances of getting fever becomes high. Medically, temperature above 100.4 F is termed as fever.

What causes fever?

It is important for everyone to know what causes fever. Fever is actually a response to your body against foreign invaders.

What are these foreign invaders?

Virus

Bacteria

Fungi

Toxins

Drugs

These foreign invaders are considered to be pyrogens or fever-producing substances. These pyrogens trigger the brain to raise the body temperature so that the body can fight these foreign invaders.

I have seen people popping up pills with a slight rise in body temperature. I have given this explanation above so that people understand that what is this fever and why does it happen? Your immune system is very smart, it will manage things on its own for a while. Taking fever-reducing medicines means that you are interfering with your immune system’s work.

Usually, fever reduces in a day or two. If it doesn’t then please visit your healthcare practitioner before popping any pills. Fever can be a symptom of any disease.

Staying with fever is not a good idea, I understand. But, taking medicine for the same is a very bad idea. Try these natural remedies to reduce your fever, it will not interfere with your immune system and will give you some relief as well.

Ingredients:

  • Dill seeds (Suva seeds)
  • Peppercorns (Kali Mirch )
  • Kalonji
  • Cinnamon powder
  • Water

 Method:

  • Boil 1 tbsp of roasted dill seeds + 1 tsp of peppercorns powder + 1 tsp of Kalonji in 150 ml of water for about 6 mins. Let it stay warm for about 15 mins.
  • Strain this mixture and add a pinch of cinnamon powder
  • Drink this mixture warm
  • Repeat it till the body temperature reduces.

(3) A headache

This topic can be an article in itself. Discussing headache is a huge thing but to cut it short headaches have numerous causes and headaches are divided into 3 categories:

  • Primary
  • Secondary
  • Other

Primary headaches include a migraine, stress, cold and cough induced headaches. Secondary headaches include headaches caused by structural problems in the body especially head and neck.

Here are some natural remedies to manage a headache:

  • Eat 5 black raisins + 1 tsp of sesame seeds twice a day. Keep chewing it and then drink lukewarm water
  • 1 glass of fresh tomato juice once a day
  • Soak your feet in Epsom salt and relax for a while. A headache will be drastically reduced.

Hope these tips help you in dealing with common illnesses!

Note: If your symptoms do not get better then please see your healthcare practitioner.

Opt for natural remedies to combat common illnesses, embracing the wisdom of traditional healing. From immune-boosting foods to age-old home remedies, prioritize your well-being the holistic way. Empower your health with these simple yet effective solutions. For further information or guidance, reach out to our certified experts by subscribing to GOQii’s Personalised Health Coaching here.

#BeTheForce

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