Urvashi Sareen, Author at GOQii

January 10, 2019 By Urvashi Sareen 12 Comments

Acidity – its symptoms and Prevention

Acidity is one of the most common problems that most individuals face. This is largely due to wrong eating habits and sometimes even stress. Bad eating, stress in a way is all connected. One leads to another and that, in turn, leads to unhealthy living and problems such as acidity.

But, to find a solution to the problem it is first important to understand what is Acidity?

Acidity is a term used for a set of symptoms caused by excess production of acid by the gastric glands of the stomach. The stomach normally secretes hydrochloric acid which is required for the breakdown and digestion of food that we eat. Acidity causes symptoms like dyspepsia, heartburn gastric inflammation, and ulcers in the stomach.

Now, there are some factors which cause acidity such as eating habits, fad diets, stress, smoking and alcohol consumption, lack of physical activity, irregularity in eating pattern, consumption of oily and spicy foods. Apart from these certain medicines are too responsible for the cause of acidity.

Some of the symptoms which can be felt as a result of acidity can be:

Burning session in the stomach
Burning session in the throat
Restlessness
Belching
Nausea
Sour taste
Indigestion
Constipation

As correctly said, “Prevention is better than cure”

So let us look at some of the parameters to prevent acidity.

Don’t consume spicy food or fried foods too often.
Eat more fruits and vegetables. One should be taking at least 2 servings of fruits and 3-4 servings of vegetables. Green leafy vegetables would be a really good choice to go for.
Eat small, regular meals. Try to reduce the gap between meals to not more than 3 hours.
Consume your last meal at least a few hours before sleeping.
Chew tulsi leaves, cloves, saunf (Aniseed), etc.
Avoid medications like NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) and steroids
Reduce stress. Deep breathing, going for a walk and being in nature are some of the activities which can help in reducing stress.

However, if you are already suffering from acidity, I am discussing below some of the home remedies of acidity which really work. So before you start with antacids for the treatment, do try these home remedies and you may get rid of the problem.

Basil leaves: Eat basil leaves thoroughly at first sign of acidity. Can also boil 4-5 leaves in a cup of water for 15 minutes.
Cinnamon: Add half spoon of cinnamon powder in a cup of water, boil for few minutes and drink this 2-3 times a day.
Buttermilk:

Grind half to one teaspoon of methi seeds with little water to make a paste. Mix it in a glass of buttermilk and have it.
Add a tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to a cup of buttermilk and keep it for 5 minutes before drinking.
Mix a pinch of black pepper in a glass of buttermilk.
Mix a tablespoon of coriander leaf juice in a glass of buttermilk.

Apple Cider vinegar:

Mix 1-2 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar in half a cup of water and drink.
Mix 2 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar with 1 teaspoon of organic honey and drink before eating a spicy meal.

Cloves: Chew 2-3 cloves thoroughly.
Jaggery: Jaggery is high in potassium. After each meal, take a small piece.
Ginger:

Can take 2-3 teaspoon of ginger juice in a day for combating acidity.
Can boil ginger in water and drink the water twice a day.

Cumin seeds:

Crush roasted cumin seeds and stir in a glass of water. Drink after each meal.
Boil seeds in water, strain and drink.
Mix 1 teaspoon of coriander seed powder, a teaspoon of cumin seed powder and a teaspoon of fennel seed powder and some sugar in half cup of water and drink empty stomach.

Aniseed: Soak a teaspoon of aniseed in a cup of boiled water overnight. In the morning, strain the water add a teaspoon of organic honey and sip it at least 3 times during the day.
Cold milk: After a meal, drink a glass of cold milk, not iced milk.
Lemon and ginger juice 15 minutes post meal, zaps acidity quickly.

If eating right and proper preventive measures are adhered to, Acidity can be averted.

August 17, 2018 By Urvashi Sareen 2 Comments

Fluid Replacement and Athletic Performance

I am not sure how many of you know that hydration and athletic performance is connected? In this blog, I am precisely going to tell you this aspect. Adequate fluid replacement helps maintain hydration and, therefore, promotes the health, safety, and optimal physical performance of individuals participating in the regular physical activity.

Dehydration can compromise athletic performance and increase the risk of exertion heat injury. Athletes do not voluntarily drink sufficient water to prevent dehydration during physical activity.

The two main factors influencing early fatigue and impaired performance (both physical and mental) in all types of sports and exercise are depletion of body levels of CHO ( Full form) and/or fluid. Fluid replacement is probably the most important nutritional concern for athletes. As an athlete exercise, fluid is lost through the skin as sweat and through lungs when an athlete breathes. If this fluid is not replaced at regular intervals during exercise, the athlete can become dehydrated bringing about metabolic changes.

Hypohydration (total body water below normal) impairs the body’s ability to regulate heat resulting in increased body temperature and an elevated heart rate. Perceived exertion is increased causing the athlete to feel more fatigued than usual at a given work rate. Mental function is reduced which can have negative implications for motor control, decision making and concentration.

Gastric emptying is slowed, resulting in stomach discomfort. All these effects lead to impairment in exercise performance. Most types of exercise are adversely affected by hypohydration, especially when they are undertaken in hot conditions, and negative effects have been detected when fluid deficits are as low as 2 %

Recommended water intake before, during and after sport/workout

Before Sports

Drinking fluids prior to exercise appear to reduce or delay the detrimental effects of dehydration.

1 to 2 hours before sports: 4 to 8 ounces of cold water
10 to 15 minutes before sports: 4 to 8 ounces of cold water
A good meal with containing water (e.g. fruits).

During Sports

Every 20 minutes: 5 to 9 ounces of a sports drink, depending on weight (5 for a child weighing 88 pounds, 9 ounces for a child weighing 132 pounds)
Any time a child feels thirsty
Encourage drinking fluids during timeouts and breaks
Encourage drinking from their own fluid container and avoid sharing with others
Encourage the ability to drink whenever they want and not to wait until they are told to take a break
Adjust fluid needs during practice according to the weather, the amount of equipment worn, and practice duration and intensity.

After Sports

Post-exercise hydration should aim to correct any fluid lost during the practice and help the body to recover from the sports activity:

Within the first 30 minutes after exercise, drink chocolate milk or a specially formulated sports drink containing protein and carbohydrates such as Gatorade G3 Recover. Not only do they hydrate but, the protein helps the body recover from exercise by enhancing muscle repair, and the carbohydrate replenishes glycogen stores in muscles, which are a source of fuel during prolonged exercise of an hour or more.
Within two hours: 20-24 ounces of a sports drink for every pound (16 ounces) of weight loss
Replace all fluids lost during exercise plus any lost after exercise through urination
Eat a good meal with foods containing water

Given the above before, during and after sports water intake recommendations, one should follow these properly for healthy and active life

May 7, 2018 By Urvashi Sareen 2 Comments

10 Foods that can fill you up

If you were to describe ‘The Perfect Food’, it would probably be: healthy, delicious, bigger than a morsel and filling enough to fight hunger for hours. “Foods that promote satiety”—a feeling of lasting fullness. In this blog, I have listed down some foods which are healthy and yet filling.

Baked potato

The potato has been unfairly demonized—it’s actually a potent hunger tamer. Though potatoes are often shunned because they’re considered high in carbohydrates, they shouldn’t be. Whether baked or boiled, they’re loaded with vitamins, fibre and other nutrients. Baked potato get you steady energy and lasting fullness after noshing on them.

Feel even fuller: Eat baked and boiled tubers skin-on to get more fibre for just 160 calories a pop.

2. Bean soup

Soups have high water content, which means they fill your stomach with very few calories. Broth-based bean soups, in particular, contain a hefty dose of fibre and resistant starch—a good carb that slows the release of sugar into the bloodstream—to make that full feeling really stick. “Once in the stomach, fibre and water activate stretch receptors that signal that you aren’t hungry anymore.

Feel even fuller: Resist the cracker pack on the side in favour of a bigger soup helping. Beans are starchy, satisfying and caloric enough on their own. To give variations to your soup, you can throw lentils, black-eyed peas or kidney or navy beans into a vinegar-based salad too.

3. Eggs

Eggs are one of the few foods that are a complete protein, meaning they contain all nine essential amino acids that your body can’t make itself. Once digested, those amino acids trigger the release of hormones in your gut that suppress appetite.

Feel even fuller: Don’t discard the yolks—about half an egg’s protein lives in those yellow parts. Adding vegetables to a scramble boosts its volume and fibre content for few extra calories (an egg has 78Kcal, and a cup of spinach just 7Kcal).

4. Yoghurt

Yoghurt is the single best food for shedding pounds: Over time, people who downed more of the protein-packed stuff lost pounds without trying. Yoghurt contains dairy proteins which increase satiety, reduces food intake and keeps blood sugar steady.
Feel even fuller: Top yoghurt with fibrous foods like raspberries (4 grams of fibre per half cup) or cucumber (9 grams per three-quarters of a cup).

5. Apples

Apples are one of the few fruits that contain pectin, which naturally slows digestion and promotes a feeling of fullness. In fact, people who ate an apple as part of a meal felt more satiated and ate less than those who consumed a calorically equivalent amount of juice and applesauce. “Whole apples take a long time to eat for very few calories. Your body has more time to tell your brain that you’re no longer hungry. That means you can eat lots of this low-energy-density, high-satiety fruit and avoid feeling deprived while losing weight.

Feel even fuller: Add apple chunks to oatmeal or salad.

6. Popcorn

This movie-night favourite is a low-energy-density food—for 90 calories, you could eat 3 cups of air-popped corn but whereas for the same number of calories you can just have a quarter cup of potato chips. This means, that a quarter cup of potato chips has 90 calories whereas 3 cups of plain air-popped popcorns have just 90 calories, so it is more filling. Popcorn takes up more room in your stomach, and seeing a big bowl of it in front of you tricks you into thinking that you’re eating more calories and that you’ll feel full when you’re finished.

Feel even fuller: Sprinkle some red pepper on popcorns or any meal. In a recent Purdue University study, people who added a half teaspoon of the spice to their meal felt less hungry.

7. Figs

A great natural cure for a sweet tooth, fresh figs have a dense consistency and sweet flesh that’s high in fibre (each 37-calorie fig packs about a gram), which slows the release of sugar into the blood, preventing the erratic high caused by cookies or cake.

Feel even fuller: Split the fig in half and add protein such as a teaspoon of cheese or add walnuts.

8. Oatmeal

Oatmeal’s filling force comes from its high fibre content and its uncanny ability to soak up liquid like a sponge. When cooked with water or skim milk, the oats thicken and take more time to pass through your digestive system, meaning you’ll go longer between hunger pangs.

Feel even fuller: Sprinkle almonds on top of your bowl. “The nuts pack protein and fibre and contain unsaturated fats that can help stabilize insulin levels,” regulating blood sugar.

9. Smoothies

While most beverages don’t satisfy hunger very well, drinks blended full of air are an exception: They cause people to feel satiated and eat less at their next meal. Just be sure you’re not whipping your smoothie full of sugary, caloric ingredients like fruit juices or flavoured syrups, which will negate the health benefits.

Feel even fuller: Put ice and fat-free milk or yoghurt in a blender, add in fruit and give it a whirl. Try strawberries, which are extremely low in energy density—they’re 92 percent water!—and bananas, which are loaded with resistant starch.

10. Wheat berries

Wheat berries are whole-wheat kernels which contain one of the highest amounts of protein and fibre per serving of any grain (6 grams of protein and 6 grams of fibre).

Protein triggers the hormone ghrelin to tell our brain that we are satisfied and fibre activates appetite-suppressing gut hormones.

Feel even fuller: Toss wheat berries with apples, nuts and other diet-friendly foods to make a super tasty salad.

December 13, 2016 By Urvashi Sareen 19 Comments

10 health care tips for a shift worker

Shift workers as we know them are people who work through the night. But, ideally, it is not so. Anyone who works outside a steady 9 to 5 schedule is considered a shift worker. Working in shifts has become more prevalent in the last few years thanks to the numerous BPOs that have started across the country. Anyone working in shift goes through serious psychological and physiological changes that give rise to health issues

Working in a shift can have a serious impact both in the short and long term. Short term symptoms are equivalent to symptoms faced by individuals who have had a long flight, or a late night at work these include Gastrointestinal symptoms like upset stomach, nausea, diarrhea, constipation, and heartburn, Increased risk of injuries and accidents, Insomnia, decreased the quality of life and general feeling of being unwell.

Long-term effects are much serious and these include cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and metabolic syndrome. A Japanese study found that shift workers — specifically, those who worked 16-hour shifts — had a 50% higher incidence of diabetes than those who work during the day for normal hours.Metabolic syndrome is a combination of high blood pressure, high blood sugar, obesity, and unhealthy cholesterol levels. These lead to diabetes, heart attacks, and stroke. Apart from these individuals working in shifts are prone to obesity, mood swings and depression and serious gastrointestinal problems.

Here are 10 healthcare tips for individuals working in shifts:

Take an hour or so to relax after work, whether it is day or nighttime. Relaxing music or a warm bath will help.
Eat meals at the same time each day seven days a week. This schedule helps maintain the body’s clock.
Eat high protein foods (egg whites, peanut butter on crackers, roasted nuts etc) to keep you alert. If you simply must eat some sweets, which tend to make you sleepy, do so at the END of your shift.
Avoid drinking alcoholic beverages before bedtime. Although the sedative effect helps you fall asleep, it tends to wear off in 2 – 3 hours and causes disturbed sleep in the latter half of the night.
Avoid coffee, tea, colas, and other caffeine drinks, which interfere with sleep. During a coffee break, drink orange juice and walk around. Physical activity promotes wakefulness.
Avoid going to bed on an empty stomach. If you don’t feel like eating much, try a glass of milk or dairy products, which promote sleep.Keep the temperature in your bedroom cool, not cold.
Darken bedroom or wear comfortable eyeshades. Eyes are sensitive to light even when the lids are closed, preventing you from falling asleep or getting consolidated sleep.
Block out daytime noises, which can disturb deep restful sleep. Use comfortable sponge ear plugs or “white noise” electrical devices such as fans, air conditioners, or a quiet tape.
Exercise, at least, every other day AFTER sleep. Daytime sleepers should avoid early morning exercise, which can promote wakefulness during the day.
Beware of certain medication. Avoid prolonged use of sleeping pills and other sedatives, which interfere with normal sleep patterns. Beware of cold and allergy medications which have sleep-related side effects. Pseudoephedrine (Sudafed) has a stimulating effect and antihistamines (Dristan) can cause drowsiness.

Follow these tips and bring a permanent shift in your lifestyle. Get healthy and fit.