Latest Archives - Page 20 of 78

January 29, 2024 By Luke Coutinho 1 Comment

What Antibiotics and Pills can do to your body?

The over prescription and wrongly prescribed antibiotics and medicines kills’ thousands of people worldwide every year. It is even said that the number of deaths caused by long term and incorrect use of these medicines are higher than road accident deaths.

Not only can it cause something like death, but the bigger problem is overuse of antibiotics and medicines causes our bacteria to become more and more resistant to these drugs, eventually they stop working, and then the need for more powerful drugs that do more harm, come into the picture.

Antibiotics, first used in the 1940s, are certainly one of the great advances in medicine. But overprescribing them has resulted in the development of resistant bacteria, that don’t respond to antibiotics that may have worked in the past. Plus, whenever kids and adults take antibiotics they run the risk of side-effects, such as stomach upset and diarrhea or even an allergic reaction and the immune system gets weaker and compromised.

We need to remember that antibiotics can only work on bacterial infections and diseases and not viruses. The body’s immune system can fight off some viruses before they cause illness, but others (colds, for example) must simply run their course. Antibiotics do not work against viruses.

So if you are taking antibiotics for colds, coughs, virals, it’s so wrong and harmful.

Every time you swallow antibiotics, you kill the beneficial bacteria within your intestines. When you do so, you upset the delicate balance of your intestinal terrain. Yeasts grow unchecked into large colonies and take over, in a condition called dysbiosis.

Yeasts are opportunistic organisms. This means that, as the intestinal bacteria die, yeasts thrive, especially when their dietary needs are met. They can use their tendrils, or hyphae, to literally poke holes through the lining of your intestinal wall.

These result in a syndrome called leaky gut. Yeasts are not the only possible cause of this syndrome. Some scientists have linked non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) such as naproxen and ibuprofen to the problem. Given their ability to alter intestinal terrain, antibiotics also likely contribute to leaky gut syndrome.

In addition to possibly causing leaky gut syndrome, I believe that parasitic yeasts can also cause you to change what you eat in that they encourage you to binge on carbohydrates including pasta, bread, sugar, potatoes, etc. So, it should come as no surprise that weight gain counts as one of the telltale signs of antibiotic damage and subsequent yeast overgrowth.

By altering the normal terrain of the intestines, antibiotics can also make food allergies more likely. An array of intestinal disorders can ensue, as well. Sadly, most doctors claim ignorance concerning their patients’ intestinal disorders rather than admit that the drugs they themselves prescribed actually caused the disorders to begin with.

Tons of antibiotics are fed to livestock on a daily basis, purportedly to proof them against bacteria. This practice not only possibly contributes to antibiotic resistance in humans — many experts feel weight gain, and not disease prevention, is the real reason antibiotics are so widely used. Fat cattle sell for more than thin cattle. That’s all very well, but imagine what the antibiotics thereby possibly present in dairy products could be doing to our children’s health.

Remember, antibiotics are dangerous mycotoxins — fungal metabolites. Just as importantly, medical experts have written articles maintaining that these drugs kill people. But, other experts insist on remaining skeptical as to the problem, even though these same experts readily recognize the link between weakened immune systems and death.
Also, keep in mind the post-antibiotic importance of restoring the intestinal terrain with plain yogurt and probiotics. If you are experiencing bloating, belching, gas, constipation, diarrhea, GERD, or other intestinal problems then probiotics can play an important role in restoring your intestinal terrain.

That a new generation will grow up knowing of the dangers inherent in taking antibiotics is a good thing. That doctors will continue randomly prescribing fungal toxins should teach us the importance of knowing medical facts before blindly accepting any prescription. Please study the antimicrobial benefits and the immune system stimulants that nature provides. Know also that, in some instances, antibiotics may become necessary.

I can’t stress enough the importance of consuming foods rich in natural probiotics, especially if you have an infection of any kind. Your gut serves as your second brain, and even produces more serotonin—known to have a beneficial influence on your mood—than your brain does. It is also home to countless bacteria, both good and bad.

These bacteria outnumber the cells in your body by at least 10 to one, and maintaining the ideal balance of good and bad bacteria forms the foundation for good health—physical, mental and emotional. Most disease originates in your digestive system. This includes both physical and mental disease. Once you heal and seal your gut lining, and make your digestive system strong and work properly again, disease symptoms will typically resolve.

I encourage you to use nature and lifestyle changes to heal yourself and your children and use antibiotics and medicines only when you really need them.

Like I always say, ‘ The human body is designed to heal itself, if we give it a chance’

#BeTheForce

January 25, 2024 By SNEHA CHIKHALE 8 Comments

Eat healthy while eating out this holiday week

“I am following a strict diet all 5 days a week, but on weekends all my efforts go down the drain as I sometimes dine out with my family on weekends”.

“I was having lunch with my friends, hence ate outside”.

“I had dinner meeting with the clients at XYZ restaurant”. “It was my farewell party, so had to take my colleagues out to this new eatery opened in town”.

Each one of us has one such story to tell, while eating out. While most of us are getting conscious about the food choices we make or watching our portions, but we can’t follow that all time, while eating out. So, can we ever eat out without guilt and compromising our diet? The answer is “Yes!”

This is our Republic Day contribution. Eat Out but Eat Healthy. Take a look at how you can make this possible.

We generally overlook the menu at the restaurant or sometimes we just order what we like. But, on that menu card, we miss out on some healthy and nutritious meal, which will not disturb our healthy meal patterns.

However, this does not mean that you should be indulging in eating out all the time. It’s Republic Day though, let’s be free from our everyday strict diet, shall we?

So, what we can eat while eating out?

Make a healthy start with healthy starters:

1) Soups: Make a wiser choice between clear soup and creamy soup. Tum yum, Wanton, Mexican tomato soup are something to look out for.

2) Salad: Be careful with those fattening salad dressings. While ordering salad, make sure you get complete benefit of that salad. Load yourself with salad like Greek salad, Cous Cous salad, Vinaigrette based salad like fruits ‘N’ nut salad or salad which are lightly tossed in olive oil.

3) Appetizers: Beware of deep fried stuff while choosing appetizers. Best way is to follow GPRS rule! Rule is simple, G = Grilled, P = Poached, R = Roasted and S = Sauteed. Next time, see to it that your tempting appetizers fall in the above category.

Make a healthy move with a Main Course

Clay Oven Pizza: This is one such food, you can make as healthy as possible or it can be a complete disaster if made with wrong choices. Go for the thin crust wheat base. Make it wholesome by opting for healthy toppings like Sun dried tomatoes, olives, bell peppers, grilled chicken or seafood. Avoid bacon, pepperoni, sausages as topping to avoid excess saturation of calories. Ask the chef to add minimal cheese on your pizza.

Japanese, Thai and Mediterranean cuisine: Good news for Japanese, Thai and Mediterranean food lovers. These cuisines are considered as one of the healthiest cuisines in the world. They are perfect blend of healthy food like beans, nuts, fruits, olive oil, whole grains (Mediterranean). Bamboo shoots, seasoned broth, shiitake mushrooms, sea vegetables like seaweed, make the Japanese cuisine, one of the best cuisine in the world. (But watch out for rice portions as it can cause spike in the blood sugar).

Tandoor Items: How can Indian cuisine be behind in the race for healthiest cuisine, when we have one of the healthy cooking method– Tandoor! Any tandoor dishes are way healthy than the dishes floating with butter or oil on the top. You will have a wide spread of variety in this section, right from tandoori roti (without butter) to tandoori mushrooms, baby corn to tandoori chicken or fish.

So, next time when you visit any restaurant or having brunch at friend’s place, your demand for healthy eating will be fulfilled with the wise choices you make!! Enjoy healthy eating out!

If you found these tips valuable and have more questions or thoughts to share, drop a comment below! To explore more insights on maintaining a healthy diet, check out Healthy Reads, and for further information or guidance, reach out to our certified experts by subscribing to GOQii’s Personalised Health Coaching here.

#BeTheForce

January 22, 2024 By Disha Jhamb Leave a Comment

Transforming Habits for Lasting Health: A 5-Step Guide to Automatic Fitness Mastery

Healthy habits are foundation for healthy lives. Once you are healthy it’s hard to give up being so. It’s an automatic behavior that is tough to change.

Here are 5 steps to automatic fitness

Decide what you want to change about yourself: Every human has the ability to change something about his or her life by controlling the mind which only comes with practice. For example – if you want to change your binging habit, be 100 percent convinced that you can change it.
Cause of the habit: Once you have identified the cause of your habit you will be able to deal with it better. For example – binging throughout the day could be because of stress. So ‘stress’ is the cause. Now that you have identified stress start reasoning within your mind on how binging can lead to calorie over load and thereby affect your weight and health? So what is it that you can do to get rid of the stress levels that makes you binge? Once you are done with the reasoning, you will get a clearer picture on your areas of improvement.
Set short term goals: It’s taken several years for you to build on your bad habits. And, it’s going to be very difficult to get rid of them instantly. Hence decide on a realistic goal that will work for you. For instance – if you take the case of binging again then you can decide to binge on nuts, seeds, fruits as and when the urge arises. At this point in time you can also question yourself if it’s emotional eating or if you are actually hungry.
Value and appreciate every small change and don’t be disheartened with the occasional slips: Appreciate yourself as you are on your journey to improve yourself and doing your best to build on healthy habits. Occasional relapses are a part of this journey which is a natural phenomenon to take place use these slip episode as a spring board of your fitness journey.
Seek additional support if your habits are proving harder to change: One of the best ways to build your inner resilience is by looking outward for support. If you’re having trouble making these changes on your own, reach out to your friends, family, or professionals to help you achieve the so called impossible.

Embarking on the road to automatic fitness involves a blend of self-awareness, realistic goal-setting, and a supportive environment. By embracing these steps, you empower yourself to create lasting positive changes that contribute to your overall well-being. For further information or guidance, reach out to our certified experts by subscribing to GOQii’s Personalised Health Coaching here.

#BeTheForce

December 30, 2023 By Mubasheera Chaiwala Leave a Comment

24 things to do in 2024

As the dawn of 2024 approaches, it’s time to embrace a year of transformation with open arms and an open heart. This is not just another lap around the sun but a fresh canvas awaiting our colorful strokes of change. It’s a call to action, a challenge to ourselves to make the most of every moment with 24 enriching activities that promise to enhance our well-being, expand our horizons, and enrich our lives. From the simplicity of saving a few rupees to the grandeur of exploring uncharted territories, each task is a step towards a more fulfilling year. So, let’s embark on this journey of self-improvement and make 2024 a testament to growth, health, and happiness.

Save money – even if it is just Rs. 50 daily but get a piggy bank, start saving from 1^st day of 2024.
Try different foods – there are so many varieties – Indian as well as exotic that we haven’t even heard or seen before. Do give them a try!
Leave 1 bad habit – Changing unhygienic habits, Shouting / yelling at anyone or something more challenging.
Plant a seed – Lazy ones should try, as it makes you responsible, you learn something new and are a part of making an ecofriendly surrounding.
Feed any animal – If you can’t pet an animal, try doing this. Get a packet of biscuits every evening to feed the stray dogs outside your colony. Feeding milk to cat or water and grains to the birds also can be done.
Gift your self – treat yourself with something you have been wanting since weeks.
Self-Health Care – we don’t even bother to go for a checkup unless and until we have a problem. This year we are going to make a difference.
1 hour no phone – this 1 hour is your “me time” in this hour you can revise your whole day / meditate / prepare yourself for the upcoming day / do whatever you like.
Start reading again – And I mean paper back books, not a Kindle.
Some healthy intake – chamomile / green tea / moringa powder / ACV / 1 tsp ghee – trust me you will not regret this decision !
Do what you have not done before – I am going to try aerial yoga this year. You can do anything that you have never done before.
Walk – I don’t have to brief the benefits here, you do it and you will see a change in your overall health !
Weekend activity – I am going to learn driving this year on weekends, why don’t you try swimming, cooking or dancing ??
Go on a vacation – 2024 demands growth, so lets decide to explore a new city or country this year !
Develop 1 spiritual habit – This way you are going to sync your health and energy with the universe.
Family Time – try to have atleast 1 meal with your family daily with talks and no electronics around.
Call that long lost friend or cousin of yours and bond again over a cup of Chai and Charcha!!
Learn a new language/ word daily – send your brain to the gym.
Keep yourself well hydrated – I mean by water, not caffeine or alcohol!
Revise your diet before you enter 2024 – see where you are going wrong and do not repeat that mistake again in 2024. take baby steps to correct your plate and palate
Do nothing for the whole day!
Do not buy this – Check your list of things you’ve bought frequently this year and avoid buying them next year completely.
Get sunlight – Investing 10 mins daily to get a sun bath.
If you are procrastinating something – 2024 is the right time to do it!

As we bid adieu to a year spent well, committing to 24 life-affirming activities, we reflect on the progress we’ve made. Each small change, from the coins clinking in our piggy banks to the new languages that now dance on our tongues, has contributed to a larger metamorphosis. Our endeavors in 2024 have not just been tasks ticked off a list but milestones on a journey of personal evolution.

We stand at the threshold of the future, not as the people we were, but as the sum of our experiences, our learned habits, and our savored moments. Let’s carry forward this spirit of proactive living and make every year better than the last. Here’s to a 2024 well-lived, and to the many more years that will echo the positive changes we’ve embraced!

#BeTheForce