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Benefits Of Working Out During Winter

Benefits Of Working Out During WinterWinter, if not very cold, is a very pleasant season. We feel quite lazy, comfy under a blanket and don\’t feel like getting up from bed at all! More often than not, we just like to sleep and let the day pass by. Today, we would like to share some very interesting information on how we could utilize this season to our benefit. If you intend to have a lean or bulky body, this is the right season to start.

Winter season is mostly dry. Apart from that, the cold weather can boost our endurance. Calorie burn can be higher in the cold, as the body has to expend energy on staying warm. It\’s one of the best times of the year to train and get fit. Here are some benefits of working out during winter.

Benefits Of Working Out During Winter 

  • Burn more: This is probably the best and most popular perk. Because your body is working hard, your metabolism revs up and your body burns more calories and fat to produce energy for your workout.
  • Endurance boosts up: By challenging yourself in the cold weather, you are strengthening your heart, lungs and circulatory system, thereby improving your overall health.
  • Helps against SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder): Being out in the open and taking in more sun during the daylight helps keep the mind sharp and relieves you of SAD. It also helps your body get more vitamin D.
  • Makes us feel happy: The cold stimulates our parasympathetic system. The sympathetic system is known as the fight response while the parasympathetic is known as relax and renew system. These endorphins can trigger the release of dopamine and serotonin, neurotransmitters that keep us happy, feeling good and eases the mood.
  • Increases blood flow: We place greater toxic burden on our poor liver during this time and it could really do with some support. Moderate exercise increases the blood flow to the liver, thereby improving its ability to detoxify waste.
  • Improves Immunity: We all need protection from germs that circulate around the office or being brought home from school by our children. Regular moderate exercise will boost immunity by improving the lymphatic and cardiovascular circulation. Try to choose an activity that increases your heart rate but make sure that you can still hold a conversation. i.e. brisk walking, gentle jogging, swimming, cycling, etc.

Don’t let the pleasant cold weather keep you glued to your sheets. Get outside, get yourself moving and enjoy the extra health benefits offered by working out during winter! If you prefer working out indoors, join a GOQii PRO class where you\’ll be guided by an expert in a live, interactive session. Book a class through the GOQii App now.

We hope this article helps you. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. For more on getting healthier during winter, check out Healthy Reads. #BeTheForce 

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Why You Need to Use Mustard Oil During Winter

Mustard Oil during Winter

In most parts of India, winters offer a reprieve from the unbearable heat. But, the winter chills bring a host of other complications due to the change in weather. These complications include cold, dryness, the Winter Itch, cough, joint pains and cracked heels, etc. Instead of exploring multiple medications, what if there was one single cure for most of these ailments? Have you considered using Mustard Oil during Winter? 

Mustard Oil is loaded with MUFA (Monounsaturated Fatty Acids), PUFA (Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids), Omega 3 and 6 Fatty Acids, Vitamin E, Minerals and Antioxidants. It also demonstrates strong anti-microbial properties and is anti-inflammatory in nature.

How to Use Mustard Oil During Winter

Due to the properties mentioned above, Mustard Oil offers a number of benefits which can help alleviate most issues caused by the cold weather.

1. Cold, Cough and Congestion
Dust, dryness and cold temperatures all add to cold & coughs during winter. Mustard Oil has a warm effect that helps in clearing congestion from the respiratory tract. You can rub about a teaspoon of mustard oil on your chest before sleeping to get relief. To clear nasal congestion, add a few drops of Mustard Oil to a vessel of boiling water and inhale the steam. Another remedy is to rub a mixture of 1 /tbsp warm Mustard Oil and 2-3 cloves of crushed garlic on your feet.

2. Joint Pains
It is often observed that in cold weather, the human body conserves more heat, and more blood is circulated to the heart and lungs. When this happens, the arms, shoulders, knee joints and blood vessels may contract, causing pain. Due to its strong anti-inflammatory and stimulant property, Mustard Oil helps in improving circulation. A regular massage with Mustard Oil helps in relieving aching joints and muscles. It even provides relief and comfort in arthritis.

3. Itchy Skin
Cold temperature with low humidity results in winter itch. The skin tends to get dry, cracked and dull. Using a natural moisturizer like Mustard Oil is healthier for the skin. It aids healing, smoothening and gives a glow due to its thick consistency, high levels of Vitamin E and anti-inflammatory properties.

4. Cracked Heels
This is another bothersome problem during winter. You can use wax from waste candles to say goodbye to cracked heels. Just make a mixture of candle wax with an equal amount of Mustard Oil by heating, so that it becomes a thick mixture. Let it cool and apply this mixture on cracked heels and sleep with cotton socks to heal your heels.

5. Hair Loss
The cold winds of winter bring havoc to the tresses, leading to hair loss and development of split ends. With the dry air and much more by the use of hats, dryers and other heat treatments, hair tends to become dry, frizzy and rough. Massaging the scalp with Mustard Oil during winter stimulates hair growth by improving blood circulation in the scalp. It is packed with vitamins and minerals, particularly, a high amount of beta-carotene which is excellent for hair growth when converted into vitamin A in the body. Besides, it also contains iron, fatty acids, calcium and magnesium – all of which nourish the hair and aid growth. Due to its thick consistency, it keeps the moisture in the hair intact and gives it the required nourishment to stay healthy and shining.

6. Cardiovascular Health
Most of us are unaware of the fact that winter is one of the prime seasons for heart attacks. Given the warming qualities of Mustard Oil, it is also used internally i.e. in food. The antibacterial properties of Mustard Oil helps in fighting bacterial infections in the colon, intestines and other parts of the digestive tract. A recent comparative study done on different varieties of edible oils showed that mustard oil reduced the risk of cardiovascular diseases by 70 per cent, when used in moderation. A high percentage of both polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats help to maintain good heart health. It also lowers bad cholesterol.

So what are you waiting for? If you’ve experienced any of the above, use Mustard Oil during Winter now! We hope this article helps you enjoy this season to the fullest. Do leave your thoughts in the comments below.

For more useful winter tips, check out Healthy Reads. You can also purchase some healthy and organic Mustard Oil for a discount using your GOQii Cash on the GOQii Health Store within the app.

#BeTheForce 

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Kanji: The Miracle Drink to Level Up Your Winter!

kanjiKanji is a popular north Indian drink. We can call it an ‘Indian Kombucha’ as well. This drink is traditionally consumed to aid digestion. It keeps the gut healthy during winter. This probiotic drink is the result of naturally occurring bacteria and yeast with salty, zingy taste. It may take a week for Kanji to be fermented as per one’s taste but you can store it in a glass jar for a month easily.

Why Do You Need This Drink During Winter?

  • This drink has fiber content which smoothens bowel movements. The growth of healthy bacteria helps to promote healthy bowel movement. 
  • Kanji tones the blood detoxifies the liver and aids digestion.
  • It is packed with a variety of nutrients such as potassium, vitamin C, vitamin A, manganese, few vitamins B as well.
  • Due to the powerhouse of Antioxidants, it helps provide protection from cancer and prevents eczema in children.
  • Low-calorie count makes this a perfectly healthy drink which aids weight loss.
  • Good for maintaining hydration levels and replenish lost nutrients in case of dehydration or diarrhoea.
  • Old remedy to prevent water loss in case of vomiting, also speeds up the recovery. It gives energy if one feels weak or dizzy.
  • It prevents certain infections after surgery and reduces systemic allergy too.

Recipe to Prepare Kanji  

What You Will Need:

  • Black Carrots (Kali Gajar) – 250 gm
  • Filtered Water – 8 cups
  • Black salt – 2 tsp (or as per taste)
  • Asafoetida (Hing) – ½ tsp
  • Mustard Seeds (Powdered) – 3 tsp
  • Red chili powder – ½ tsp (optional)

How to Prepare:

  1. Peel the carrots, wash them and cut them in small pieces about your finger size.
  2. Boil the water and add the carrots into it, boil it for 2-3 minutes and turn off the flame and let it cool.
  3. Add black salt, mustard seeds powder, hing, and chili powder to the mixture and transfer it in a clean glass jar and close it with lid.
  4. Keep this jar out in the sun for 4-5 days so that the Kanji gets fermented. Don’t keep the jar under the sun after fermentation.
  5. After 5 days, if it tastes sour then your Magic drink is ready for consumption.
  6. Stir and enjoy it with your breakfast or your mid-meal.

It’s easy to prepare. In fact, I just finished making a batch for myself! We hope you like this amazing and nutritious drink. Do share your thoughts with us in the comments below.

For more healthy winter recipes and to learn about nutritious foods and drinks, check out Healthy Reads or connect with a GOQii Coach by subscribing for personalised health coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

#BeTheForce 

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7 Nutrition Tips For A Healthy Winter

Nutrition Tips

Everyone likes the drop in temperature, hill station vacations, sitting around the bonfire while barbecuing delicious food, but do we really enjoy the cold and flu? Drying of our skin? Getting viral infections? And then the never ending consumption of cough syrups? The Winter season is one of cool breeze as well as the season of cold and flu. Hence, it is important to take care of ourselves, and avoid getting any viral fevers, cold and flu. To help you with it, I have some healthy nutrition tips for you this Winter. 

7 Nutrition Tips For a Healthy Winter 

  1. Keep a check on your water intake: The most common negligence we do in winters is that we tend to forget to drink enough water. As the temperatures are down, we often do not drink water and consume it only while gulping down food. This leads to dehydration in the body, and further damages our skin, leaving a major impact on our bowel movements, due to which most of the time we are constipated. Make sure to drink at least 3-4 liters of water per day. 
  2. Build your immunity: Common cold & flu are 2 symptoms, which you will get quite often in the winter season. So the best thing will be following a healthy routine daily, so as to keep them at bay. Try drinking Saunth (dry ginger water), every alternate day just before you sleep or anytime once in a day. As dry ginger/Saunth has a bioactive compound called as Gingerol, which is anti-inflammatory and has other medicinal properties as well. 
  3. Avoid overeating: In winter as the temperatures are low, we always tend to overeat, consume hot and spicy meals, eat fried snacks, etc. All we know is the winter makes us hungry, but we need to realise that they also make us put on weight. Issues of bloating, gas and constipation take a toll on our health. To avoid this, we should not indulge in all the cravings. Instead, to beat the cold weather, we should consume hot soups, warm khichdi, seasonal green leafy veggies, and healthy homemade snacks like steamed muthiya’s, sprouts poha, idlis, and many more. 
  4. Restrict caffeine: Drinking tea/coffee every 2 hours to keep the body warm is not a good idea. We not only increase our sugar intake but also our caffeine intake. Caffeine leads to dehydration in the body, and as in winter we already have a tough time meeting our water intake, drinking caffeinated  beverages will harm us further. In that case, we can consume antioxidant rich and caffeine free Green tea’s. Drinking or sipping on Green tea, turmeric water, cinnamon water, and herbal teas will also be a great deal.
  5. Go seasonal: It is also advisable to eat things which are in season, as they are found in abundance. Bioavailability of the nutrients is high, and helps us with the essential vitamins and minerals as well. So winter season belongs to berries like strawberries, mulberries, blueberries and fruits like oranges, chiku, plums, guava. Green leafy vegetables and root vegetables as well. So snacking on a roasted sweet potato for your evening snack will be a great thing. 
  6. Consume superfoods to stay warm: There are a variety of ingredients or to be more precise, many dried foods and spices, which keep our body warm from the inside. Including these while cooking our food is definitely going to keep us warm from the inside. These ingredients include anjeer, figs, dates, sesame seeds, cinnamon, peppercorn, garlic, cloves, ginger, saunth and star anise.
  7. Say no to processed: In the fast moving world, we often tend to have packaged soups, as they are more easy to make than actually chopping veggies and making it fresh. However, these packaged foods are high in preservatives and additives, which are very unhealthy for us. Instead of using them, try blending fresh veggies and make a healthy meal for yourself. 

We hope these nutrition tips help you have a healthy winter! Do leave your thoughts in the comments below. For more on staying healthy during Winter, check out Healthy Reads or ask a GOQii Coach by subscribing for personalized health coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr 

#BeTheForce 

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