Search Results for: nutrition

June 1, 2015 By Vrushali Athavle 1 Comment

Protein is not just about quantity. It’s also about quality

Every weight loss or weight gain programme talks about PROTEINS. They are the building blocks for growth and repair of muscle tissues of tendons, organs and skin. Proteins are made out of smaller molecules called amino acids which are linked together like beads on a string.

Some of these amino acids can be produced by the body and are called non essential amino acids, while some cannot be produced by the body and we need to get them from our foods. These are called the essential amino acids.

The protein requirement of each individual varies based on their intensity of workouts, medical conditions, height and ideal body weight. Before, we jump into the calculation of protein requirement, let’s first check out how to select the best protein out of the 3 major sources of proteins namely 1) Animal sources (chicken, fish, eggs, milk & milk products), 2) Plant sources (legumes, nuts, seeds and cereals) and 3) various Supplementary protein powders available in the market as protein shakes. This blog basically has two sections.

1) Protein Selection and 2) Protein Calculation

Section 1: Protein selection

Two things we need to consider while selecting your proteins source:

Complete or incomplete proteins:

* Animal proteins are considered complete proteins as they contain all essential amino

acids required by our body.

*Plants sources are classified as incomplete proteins as they contain only few essential

amino acids.

* Supplementary powders have most of the essential amino acids.

Bioavailability of proteins.

Bio-availability represents the percentage of how much our bodies can make use of certain protein sources. Animal proteins have better bioavailability than plant proteins. Supplementary proteins have highest % of bioavailability. It is important to note here that at a go our body can absorb only 15 to 20 gms of protein.

Section 2: Protein Calculation:

Calculate your protein intake by this formula:

Person with sedentary lifestyle, Protein intake= Ideal body weight in kgs (multiply by) 0.8 gm
Person with moderate workout, Protein intake= Ideal body weight in kgs (multiply by) 1 gm
Person with moderate to intense workouts, Protein intake= Ideal body weight in kgs (multiply by) 1.5 gm

Note: Consult your trainer/nutritionist/doctor while calculating this protein amount as your medical conditions and intensity of workouts also need to be considered.

To consume this amount of protein, we would want to divide this intake of protein into 5-6 meals over the course of the day.

Managing this protein intake is a bit difficult for vegetarians. Even for individual who consume non-veg and take up heavy workouts, just the thought of eating six chicken breasts a day or eight egg whites in each meal can seem like a daunting task. An alternative to this is to ingest 1 or 2 scoops of protein powders in the form of a protein shake.

Conclusion: Protein is not just about quantity. It’s also about quality. Protein intake needs to be wisely planned. Good sources of protein include high quality proteins like egg, chicken, fish, skimmed milk and soy. Red meat, egg yolk and high fat milk products are rich in saturated fats and hence should be avoided. Whole pulses, sprouts and daals(lentils) should be consumed in combination with a cereal to make the amino acid profile complete. For eg: Roti with Daal/Rice with Rajma/Khichadi.

If required protein powders can be included. Natural source of protein is the best but, due to day to day constraints of making and eating them, you may need to add the protein supplement into your diet. Getting all your protein from powders is not the best idea, as it could potentially restrict your intake of vitamins and minerals from other foods. Selection of protein powder will be discussed in my next blog. Stay tuned!

May 25, 2015 By Anushree Ashtekar Leave a Comment

Red Signal to Excess-Part 2 – Moderation is key to Good health

In Part 1, we saw how good things in excess can adversely affect our health. In this follow up blog, I talk of bad things in excess, which is also not right.

Let’s take a look at some of these bad things in excess and how it could be detrimental to our health.

1) Excessive consumption of junk/processed foods: Fast food means food that can be made and served quickly. These junk foods are mostly processed, containing large amounts of refined carbohydrates, added refined sugars, added salt (sodium) and bad quality fats. They are high on calories but, minimal on nutritional value. Eating junk/processed foods instead of fresh, whole, nutritious food has many adverse effects on the body. Junk foods and drinks are packed with refined sugars which cause insulin spike gradually leading to insulin resistance and Type- 2 diabetes.

The empty calories just go easily go into the body fat store leading to obesity which can further give rise to severe health issues like heart problems, respiratory problems, etc. The trans fats in the junk foods, increase the LDL cholesterol levels and subsequently decrease the HDL cholesterol levels. Lot of salt (sodium) causes water retention, high blood pressure and enlarged heart muscle. Too much sugars cause acidity which destroy the tooth enamel causing dental cavities. MSG (Monosodium Glutamate) found in processed foods create stomach distress. Some of the artificial colors and preservatives used in processed foods are found to be carcinogenic (cancer causing). Drinking too much of soda can leach calcium out of the bones making them soft and brittle. Also, the aluminium soda cans are inwardly lined with an epoxy resin called bisphenol A (BPA) which protects the metal can from the reaction of acids in the sodas. This BPA is found to be disrupting normal hormone functioning that can lead to obesity, diabetes and reproductive cancers.

2) Excessive alcohol consumption: It is no big secret that alcohol consumption has no good effects but, chronic heavy drinking has many bad effects. Researchers have found alcohol to be linked to more than 60 diseases. Alcohol can cause liver cirrhosis. Alcohol is empty calories so, can cause unwanted fat storage in the body. Alcohol disturbs the working of the sympathetic nervous system leading to high blood pressure, heart problems, stroke and kidney disease. Heavy drinking can cause gastritis (stomach irritation), inflammation of pancreas, decrease in immunity, nerve damage (alcoholic neuropathy). As people age, their brains shrink but, heavy drinking can cause faster brain shrinking leading to memory loss and other symptoms of dementia. Depressed people drink to ‘feel good’ but, in fact, drinking leads to further depression. Alcohol can aggravate the condition of gout. It can worsen the condition of an epileptic and cause seizures even in non-epileptic individuals. Chronic heavy drinking can lead to cancer of the mouth, esophagus, liver, breast, and colorectal region.

3) Excessive cigarette smoking/tobacco chewing: Nicotine is a highly addictive drug that alters the brain chemistry making it both, physically and psychologically addictive. According to AHA (American Heart Association), nicotine causes short-term rise in heart-rate, blood flow and blood pressure which, in a long term, can cause cardiovascular complications. Carbon monoxide in cigarette smoke causes fat buildup in arteries leading to hardening of the arterial walls (atherosclerosis). Tobacco smoking and chewing, both, can lead to oral and lung cancers. Smoking/chewing tobacco can also cause tissue damage in various organs of the body and dental diseases.

4) Excessive Tea/Coffee drinking: We all wish to have a cup of tea/coffee to kick-start our day. It’s not too bad to drink tea and coffee. It is the too much drinking that is the concern.

Caffeine is a natural stimulant found in coffee, tea, chocolate, yerba mate and certain herbal teas. Caffeine is generally a very safe stimulant. It improves alertness and is a mood enhancer. Usually, it is 200-300 mg of coffee that can be safely consumed per day (roughly 3 cups) but, this differs from person to person, depending on their own ‘caffeine sensitivity’. Too much coffee consumption can lead to symptoms like irritability, nervousness, headache, dizziness, insomnia, fever, increased heart-rate, increased thirst, stomach upset and muscle tremors. Same is the case with teas. A cup of hot tea in the morning will boost your energy for the day where as a cup of herbal tea at night will help you relax. Tea contains lesser amount of caffeine than coffee but, there are side effects of having too much of it.

Drinking too many cups of tea in a day can lead to symptoms like restlessness, anxiety, disturbed sleep, skeletal fluorosis (a painful bone condition), yellow pigmentation of the teeth. Green tea is no less. Though healthy, if had too much, it can worsen the condition in people suffering from high blood pressure, anxiety and stomach ulcers.

5) Excessive stress: In this fast paced world, stress is become an inevitable part of our lifestyle. Our body reacts/adjusts to outward changes with physical, mental and emotional responses. This response amounts to stress. Stress is a part of our daily, normal lives. Our body is designed to feel and react to 2 kinds of stress; positive and negative stress. Positive stress is the one where the body prepares itself for a ‘fight or flight’ mode. Negative stress is the one in which the body is continuously facing challenges, without time for rest and recovery. As a result, stress related tensions build up. A person going through stress for a very long time without relief, can enter a stage called as ‘distress’. This distress is indicated by many physical symptoms like fatigue, headache, dizziness, disturbed sleep patterns, high blood pressure, stomach upsets. Stress plays a role in aggravating medical conditions like diabetes, blood pressure, heart problems, depression, asthma, anxiety, skin problems, gastrointestinal disorders, Obesity, Alzheimer’s disease. In many cases, chronic, untreated stress can also lead to accelerated ageing and premature death.

Lastly, I would like to end by saying, “too much of anything, is good for nothing”.

May 19, 2015 By Anushree Ashtekar 1 Comment

Red Signal To Excess Good things we overdo -part 1

Plato rightly said, “Excess generally causes reaction and produces a change in the opposite direction, whether it be in seasons, or in individuals, or in governments”.

We all crave for healthy and fulfilling lives. In order to achieve this, we try to do our best in matters of food, clothing, shelter; in short, have a good standard of living. But, what about when we go overboard while taking care of ourselves? Overdoing something which is usually good for our health also, has it’s own ill-effects. Let’s take a look at some of the ‘healthy’ things that many of us tend to go high on:-

Excessive drinking of water: Almost all of our major body systems depend on water to function properly. Optimum hydration helps in flushing toxins out of the body, preventing digestive ailments like acidity and constipation, regulating body temperature and many other functions. Many a times, people are low on water intake and are dehydrated. But, there are also instances where people tend to go too much on water intake causing a condition known as over hydration. Over hydration is a potentially deadly condition that causes severe imbalance between water and sodium in the body. People, consciously or unconsciously, can go high on water. Especially, when they sweat a lot, increased thirst due to uncontrolled diabetes, some psychiatric conditions like Schizophrenia can cause compulsive drinking of water, certain medications can cause dry mouth and make the person feel thirsty. Also, over hydration due to water retention (inability of the body to get rid of excessive water) can result due to underlying medical conditions such as kidney problems, liver cirrhosis, congestive heart failure and SIADH (Syndrome of Inappropriate Antidiuretic Hormone). Symptoms of over hydration may include headache, nausea and vomiting, confused or disoriented state of mind, loss of sleep as people frequently get up in the night to go to the loo. If not treated early, over hydration may lead to a hyponatremia (dangerously low levels of sodium in blood) leading to much severe conditions like seizures, muscle cramps or spasms, unconsciousness and coma. The best way to ensure optimum hydration is to drink a glass of water at regular intervals in a day. 8-10 glasses of water per day is usually needed for good hydration but, mostly it differs from person to person. Over hydration can be dealt with by treating the underlying medical conditions and consulting a nutritionist about your hydration status.
Excessive exercise: A routine of regular exercising gives us health benefits like improved cardiovascular endurance, muscular endurance, musculoskeletal strength and ideal body composition. But, exercising too much can prove detrimental to health. ‘Overtraining Syndrome’ is common among fitness enthusiasts and athletes. It may manifest itself through various physical and psychological symptoms. The physical symptoms of overtraining syndrome are unexplained weight loss, decreased appetite, excessive thirst indicating dehydration, cardiovascular complications(increased Resting Heart Rate), decreased immunity, muscle soreness, increased occurrence of injuries, decreased performance in sports and day to day activities.

Psychological symptoms include fatigue, irritability, disturbed sleep patterns, apathy and hostility. Levels of stress hormones (cortisol) increase and testosterone levels decrease. The adverse effects are seen in both, men and women. Overtraining syndrome can be avoided by following a proper training program with compulsory resting days. Medical treatment for the physical and psychological symptoms.

Excessive calorie control in meals: Calorie counting is termed as an eating disorder. It’s not about how many calories we consume but, what quality of calories we are consuming. For eg; we think that low-fat yogurt is healthier than full-fat yogurt as it has less calories. Whereas, the truth is quite opposite. Low-fat yogurt is less in fat but, high on sugars. Fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K are lost when you remove the fat. Similar case with skim milk and regular milk. Skim milk is low-fat but, also completely rid of Vitamins A and D which the normal milk is rich in. They may contain added Vitamins but, they are synthetic and harmful. Egg yolk is discarded due to high fat and cholesterol content but, the yolk is almost twice as rich in all the nutrients as the egg white; the egg yolk can resolve most of the common nutrient deficiencies. Also, these so-called ‘low-fat’, ‘low-sugar’ foods cost more than their regular counterparts. Calorie is not what builds up the fat in your body; it is simply the unit of energy that our body uses for it’s functions. Think about building muscle because, more muscle will raise the body BMR and burn calories for energy throughout the day. Moreover, calorie counting leads to mental stress and does not let you enjoy your meals. The solution to this is quality check of foods, mindful eating and portion control.
Excessive consumption of fruits, fruit juices and dried fruits: Fruits are packed with vitamins, minerals, water, antioxidants and fiber. Daily consumption of fruits gives us many health benefits. But, over-consumption has it’s own ill effects. Fruits are nutritious but, also high on sugars. Fruit juices and dried fruits contain denser amount of sugars than the fresh, whole fruits. Overeating may lead to high blood glucose levels and eventually the unused calories go into fat store. Too much sugars can also increase acidity. Fruit contains fiber which if consumed too much, can cause gastrointestinal discomfort like cramping, gas, bloating and loose motions. Fruits are simple carbohydrates lacking amino acids and essential fatty acids so, cannot be considered as complete food. 1 or 2 servings of fruits per day can be recommended. Include a variety of fruits in the diet.
Excessive fiber intake: Fiber is found in whole grains, fruits and vegetables. It is needed for healthy digestion process. Fiber gives satiety for longer time and prevents constipation. But, too much of it can cause several health problems. Fiber cannot be easily digested so, too much of it can cause cramping. Fiber speeds up the passage of the food in the gut and too much of it can speed up the passage too fast leading to diarrhea. Too much of fiber with less water intake can make you constipated. There can also be , gas, bloating and flatulence. Excessive fiber can lead to malabsorption of certain nutrients like calcium, iron, zinc and magnesium. The worst effect of consuming too much of fiber can be intestinal blockage and may also require surgery. Have both, soluble and insoluble fiber, equally, and adequate amount of water.
Excessive sleeping/resting: Many of us think about compensating for the weeks’ lost hours of sleep by oversleeping at the weekends. A good night’s sleep is very much essential for good health but, oversleeping comes with it’s own share of adverse effects. Along with the quantity of the sleep, the quality of the sleep also matters. If you try to compensate low quality of sleep with high quantity of sleep, you will end up feeling more tired. Sleeping too much can lead to many health problems like obesity, heart disease, diabetes and depression. It can slow down the brain functioning. According to WebMD research it has been found that sleeping for more than 8 hours can shorten the span of life.

These are some of the healthy things that we over do. In my next blog part 2 we will see how we overdo ‘unhealthy’ things.

To be continued…….

May 19, 2015 By Hardika Vira Leave a Comment

Did you know about Syndrome X?

Syndrome X is also known as metabolic syndrome, cardio metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance syndrome, Reaven’s syndrome (named after Gerald Reaven an American endocrinologist and professor at Stanford University who has worked upon insulin resistance and diabetes), and CHAOS (in Australia). It’s one of the leading lifestyle related disorders.

As is defined by Wikipedia-Syndrome X is a disorder of energy utilization and storage, diagnosed by a co-occurrence of three out of five of the following medical conditions: abdominal (central) obesity, elevated blood pressure (Hypertension), elevated fasting plasma glucose (Diabetes/ insulin resistance), high serum triglycerides (hypertriglyceridemia), and low high-density cholesterol (HDL) levels.

In today’s times you will seldom find people with one single issue. You more often meet people with multiple issues for e.g.: You will see a person who is diabetic also has hypertension, and has a big belly at the same time. So, would you categorize this person as a diabetic or hypertensive or obese? Well, None of these! It is Metabolic Syndrome

How do you categorize a person suffering from metabolic syndrome?

He should have any of these 3 categories positive. As per American Heart Association(2004)

Elevated waist circumference:
- Men — greater than 40 inches (102 cm)
- Women — greater than 35 inches (88 cm)
Elevated triglycerides: Equal to or greater than 150 mg/dL (1.7 mmol/L)
Reduced HDL (“good”) cholesterol:
- Men — Less than 40 mg/dL (1.03 mmol/L)
- Women — Less than 50 mg/dL (1.29 mmol/L)
Elevated blood pressure: Equal to or greater than 130/85 mm Hg or use of medication for hypertension

Elevated fasting glucose: Equal to or greater than 100 mg/dL (5.6 mmol/L) or use of medication for hyperglycemia

Let us concentrate on the prevention part rather than treatment as we already know prevention is better than cure. The prevention for Metabolic Syndrome is same as its treatment.

Exercise daily for 30-60 minutes. Exercising increases the insulin sensitivity, helps reduce waist circumference, manages blood pressure and also improve HDL cholesterol. Exercise daily / Being active whole day is the requirement
Lose weight if overweight. Nearing your IBW (Ideal Body Weight) helps to reduce the pressure exerted on the walls of the arteries to supply blood to all parts of the body. It also helps in better glucose uptake. Reducing even 10% of your body weight helps you control diabetes, blood pressure and weight
Eat healthy and keep a check on the portions – Include a good amount of fruits and veggies in your daily diet. They are rich in fiber, vitamins and minerals. Fiber helps in maintaining blood sugar levels, choose whole grains and their products over the refined ones, choose low fat dairy products and lean proteins over red meat as red meat is high in fats and sodium. Go easy on saturated fats and trans fats like butter, ghee, margarine, vanaspati ghee, bakery products. Restrict cholesterol consumption to less than 300 mg/ day. Generally non-veg foods contain cholesterol. Veg sources do not contain cholesterol. Make it a point to check the nutritional label of the packaged foodstuff that you pick for cholesterol and Sodium content.
Quit smoking and alcohol- Getting rid of your habits reduces the risk factor to a large extent by preventing damage to your organs. Alcohol raises triglyceride levels, helps increases belly fat and smoking induces chain reaction which destroys other organs too.
Reduce stress levels- Stress hormone cortisol is known to increase blood sugar levels and create a negative impact on your body as well. Practicing deep breathing exercises and getting involved into your hobbies / recreational activities help curb the stress levels

Practicing these would not only help you lower the risk factors but also help lower your medication.