Search Results for: grains

April 17, 2022 By Vaishali Vibhute Leave a Comment

What Happens To Your Body When You Eat Too Much Sugar

“You are what you eat, so eat something sweet” is a very sweet quote but has a bittersweet reputation when it comes to health! Did you know that carbohydrate, an essential micronutrient, is a producer of sugar? Sugars, in fact, are simple carbohydrates which are easily absorbed and digested by the body. It is an empty calorie food, has zero nutritional value and provides only energy. It is naturally found in lots of foods. For instance, as fructose in fruits, as lactose in dairy and dairy products and different cereals and grains.

Is It Really A Villain Of Good Health?

Along with negatives, sugar has many positives:

It makes anything taste better
Provides immediate energy to your body
Naturally found sugars in foods like fruits and vegetables have little effect on blood sugar and are considered healthy.
It increases happy hormones.

Adverse Effects Of Eating Too Much Sugar

Too much of anything is bad, and the same goes for sugar! Here are some ill-effects it can have on your body:

Weight Gain or Obesity: Too much consumption of white sugar can contribute to weight gain or obesity, due to it’s high calorie content. When eaten in excess, it gets dumped into cells and gets stored as fat and results in weight gain.
Type 2 Diabetes: Excessive intake creates problems for pancreas. Body monitors blood glucose levels and produces insulin to help control it. When blood glucose level is high and has more glucose than your body needs, cells become insulin resistant, the control breaks down, blood sugar rises to dangerous levels and leads to Type 2 Diabetes.
Hurt your Heart: There is a clear relation between sugar consumption and high BP. Eating too much can harden the arteries and damage heart tissues, which is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke.
Tooth Decay: It is the primary food source for bacteria that can grow in your mouth and cause tooth decay.
Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease ( NAFLD): is a metabolic stress related liver disease. A diet high in sugar and specially fructose, can trigger your liver to store fat which can lead to NALFD.
Hampers Immune Function: It can interfere with the immune system as bacteria and yeast feed on sugar. So excessive glucose in the body causes these organisms to build and cause infections.
Accelerates Ageing: When it enters your bloodstream, it attaches to protein. The mix of these proteins with sugar causes loss of elasticity and increases premature ageing. Thus, it can mess with your skin by contributing to wrinkles and sagging.
Increases Risk of Developing Gout: Gout is an inflammatory condition that causes pain in the joints. Added sugars raise uric acid levels in the blood and increases risk of developing and worsening gout.
Damages Kidneys: When blood sugar is too high, the kidneys spill it into urine, which can cause permanent damage.
Fertility: High blood sugar impairs reproduction function in both men and women. Excessive consumption can rob essential vitamins and minerals.

How Can You Cut Down The Intake?

Daily recommended limit of sugar for women is 6 tsp (30gms), men 7tsp (35gms) and for children 3tsp(15gms). Apart from this recommended limit, you can also do the following:

Avoid sugary drinks such as sodas, energy/sports drinks, etc. That will reduce sugar intake and could help you lose weight. Homemade sherbet’s like lemon, kokum or amla, etc. can be a better alternative to sugary drinks.
Avoid packaged or processed food in favour of whole foods like fresh fruits, vegetables, seeds, whole grains, legumes and nuts.
When you buy ready to eat foods, read nutrition labels. If you know how much sugar is in a product, you can limit the intake of that food. Some of the common names of hidden sugars on packaged food labels are corn syrup, cane sugar, dextrose, agave, high fructose corn syrup, coconut palm sugar, etc. Food manufacturers add sugars in foods like ice-cream, cookies, candy, soda, ketchup, sauces, bread, yogurt, etc.
Instead of adding sugar in cereals or oats, try fresh fruits like banana, strawberry, sapota and apple, etc.
Avoid protein/granola bars which contain lots of added sugar. Eat low sugar snacks such as nuts and fruits.
Don’t store desserts like ice cream, cakes, different sauces in the fridge and biscuits and cookies on shelves to reduce cravings.
Natural sweeteners such as stevia and xylitol can be healthy alternatives to sweet sugar.

Sugary or sweet products are sweet to the tongue but not for the body. Consuming small quantities is the key to healthy eating. For least harm to the body and fullest enjoyment, eat it in moderation.

We hope this article helps you make healthy eating choices. Do leave your thoughts in the comments below! For more on nutrition, check out Healthy Reads or ask a GOQii Coach by subscribing for personalized health coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

#BeTheForce

April 7, 2022 By Prachi More 1 Comment

Thank You For Being Healthy: Stories That Inspired Us!

Being healthy is not a race, it’s a marathon. It requires constant effort, patience, dedication and determination. Paired with the right guidance, you can become an unstoppable force of good health. Now, if you’re thinking you’re too busy, too old or if “this isn’t for you” then you need to read about our Elite GOQii Players who have turned their life around with simple lifestyle changes.

Col. Ravi Minocha

For instance, if you’re worried about being too old to begin your health story, our GOQii Player Col. Ravi Minocha will tell you otherwise. His Health Story began at the age of 80. He made everyone believe in the power of discipline, dedication and consistency. Due to the Osteoarthritis which had affected his knees, his mobility was restricted and this led to weight gain.

But with support from his family and his GOQii Coach, he started working on his lifestyle, making small changes at a time. He was regular in updating his logs, which only helped his GOQii Coach improve his food and water consumption in a detailed manner. From taking small frequent walks , having anti-inflammatory food to having only millet based meals and detox water, he had made multiple changes in his lifestyle. Who could believe that a man who could hardly walk for 10 minutes at a time is now clocking more than 10,000 steps every day? With his efforts he was bound to get results as he lost 22kg in the span of 3 years. Isn’t it amazing?

Kamal Nath Thakur

Many times, we come across people who feel that the routine which they are following is a perfect one until they speak to one of our coaches. Kamal Nath Thakur who is a badminton player, did not take much interest in personalized health coaching initially, till he was infected with COVID.

He thought of discussing his lifestyle with his GOQii Coach to see if there are any loopholes in his lifestyle. He was astonished by the detailed food log analysis and guidelines given by his coach. She helped him with respect to portion size, food timing, combination of meals and inclusion of different food groups. Not only this, but the strengthening and stretching exercises suggested by the coach helped him find relief from an untreated leg pain. From clocking only 3-4k steps to crossing over 15k steps every day, including strengthening exercises in addition to cardio practices, and being mindful of food consumption, he has come a long way!

Ashima Dalela

Our physical, mental and emotional health are closely connected to one another. If any one component gets affected, it causes disharmony. Player Ashima Dalela, who was suffering from gastric issues, visited more than 15 doctors but it did not help her. It affected her emotional health as well in the form of Anxiety attacks.

After a doctor’s suggestion, she started using a GOQii tracker and personalized health coaching services. After listening to her ailments and lifestyle carefully, her coach suggested food like lemon water, detox water, curd, rice, kanji, etc. which improved her gut health. Her coach complemented it with a workout regimen .It was not easy for her to adopt so many changes but she could crack all the habits set with the help of her GOQii Coach .

Her consistent efforts paid off! She not only found relief from the gastric ailments, but also her anxiety attacks. With incorporating habits like having fiber, a designed workout schedule she could also tackle health issues like hemorrhoids, irregular cycle and gain healthy weight to achieve her ideal body weight. Now she is focusing on improving her skin tone and texture. It’s so motivating to see how she is ticking off various medical ailments and setting new health goals one after the other. We can learn from her that lifestyle improvement is a continuous journey, there cannot be a full stop to it.

These Players Made Significant Changes But What About You?

These players made remarkable changes in their health with minor lifestyle tweaks. You can do the same by following some of these basic habits:

Nutrition: Be mindful about what you eat. Replace refined, sugary, processed and packed food with natural, wholesome food. Include whole grains, proteins, fibers and healthy fats in the right proportion to your meals. This will nourish your body with the right nutrients and protect it from the effect of empty calories.
Hydration: Keeping yourself well hydrated helps circulate nutrients to each and every cell of your body. It’s advisable to consume moderate amounts of water at regular intervals rather than consuming large quantities at big intervals. We should avoid replacing water with fruit juices and aerated drinks to avoid unhealthy calories.
Exercise: Our body is like a machine. If you won’t move, it will catch rust. We should aim for at least 30-40 minutes of workout 5-6 days a week. It can be cardio activities like walking, jogging, swimming and dancing or strengthening exercises. It’s equally important to keep yourself active throughout the day. Reduce bouts of sedentary periods, take small walks, stretch your arms & legs frequently to keep a check on proper circulation and fat burn.
Stress: In today’s world, stress is a constant trigger. You need to remember that you cannot change your circumstances, but you can change yourself! You can make yourself capable of handling stress in a better way so that it doesn’t bother you. To manage stress effectively, you can practice deep breathing exercises and mediation. Not only this, but positive affirmations and positive visualizations help a lot in reducing the cortisol surge which you get with high stress. It also helps you feel relaxed and at peace.
Sleep: Light emitting from devices acts as the biggest enemy to the quality and quantity of sleep we get. It directly affects the melatonin hormone. Keeping gadgets away for 30 minutes before bedtime, indulging in relaxing techniques like listening to soothing music, reading book or spending time with family, helps in getting a good night’s sleep

As a GOQii Expert, I request you to emphasize on healthy living by paying gratitude to your body. Yes, work and responsibilities are an important part of our life, but you can do justice to them only when you are Physically, Mentally and Emotionally fit! So if you want to begin your Health Story, sign up for personalized health coaching with GOQii and take the first step: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

If you’ve been living a healthy life, taking charge of your health goals, trying to make changes to your lifestyle or are just taking the first step in your Health Story, we want to say, Thank You For Being Healthy!

Keep Going and #BeTheForce

March 23, 2022 By Meenakshi Sharma 2 Comments

What Is Visceral Fat & Why It Is Dangerous

You might have heard of the term belly fat but you might not be aware of terms like subcutaneous and visceral fat. Subcutaneous fat is the kind you can grasp with your hand on any part of your body. It is situated under the skin. Belly fat or what experts call visceral fat is a particularly dangerous type of fat that forms inside the abdomen. It’s a type of fat that surrounds the internal organs, like the liver and intestines and is also known as ‘active fat’ as it influences how hormones function in the body.

You can have too much belly fat even with a normal BMI. So pay attention to your waist circumference rather than the number on the scale.

How To Measure It

Waist size: This is an easy way to get a rough estimate. Wrap a tape measure around your waist over your belly button (don’t suck in your stomach). In women, 35 inches or more is a sign of visceral fat. In men, it’s 40 inches.
BMI: Body mass index is a formula for how much you weigh relative to your height. A BMI of 30 or higher is overweight. That could be a sign of visceral fat. In Asia, a BMI of 23 or higher could be a concern.
Hip-to-waist ratio: You divide your waist size by your hip size. Some doctors think the number gives a good idea of your risk for visceral fat. But studies suggest it may be no better than a simple waist measurement.
Body shape: Look in the mirror. If you’re an apple – a big trunk and slimmer legs – it often means more visceral fat and is more common among men. Women are more likely to be pears with bigger hips and thighs. Research shows that upper body fat is more dangerous to your health, which might be one reason why women usually live longer than men.
Imaging tests: These scans are the only way to check the exact amount of visceral fat you have. If your doctor orders a CT scan or an MRI test to check for another medical condition, they can also get a detailed picture of your visceral fat.

Risks & Dangers Of Excess Visceral Fat

Increased Inflammation: If you have more fat stored than you need, especially around visceral organs like the liver, heart, kidneys, pancreas and intestines, your body becomes inflamed. This kind of fat stores inflammatory white blood cells and this is why inflammatory belly fat is linked with cognitive decline, arthritis, diabetes and so on.
Higher Risk of Diabetes: Visceral fat is thought to play a large role in insulin resistance, which means a heightened risk for developing diabetes. Abdominal fat is viewed as a bigger health risk than hip or thigh fat, not only for diabetes but for many other chronic diseases too. Some evidence suggests that pear-shaped women are better protected from metabolic diseases like diabetes compared to big-bellied people. While men are more likely to store noticeable levels of visceral fat, women are definitely at risk, too.
Makes It Harder to Lose Weight: One of the main reasons is that stored body fat affects hunger levels, especially visceral fat. Leptin hormone which is released by stored fat plays an important role in appetite control, metabolism and weight loss . Leptin is a satiety hormone and ghrelin is a hunger hormone are two of the most hormones to pay attention to in reference to losing weight naturally. Your “set point” is basically the weight that your body tries to maintain through control of the brain’s hormonal messengers. When you eat refined carbohydrates such as white flour and sugar, the fat-storing hormones are produced in excess, raising the set point and making it hard to follow a moderate-calorie, healthy diet.
Higher Risk for Heart Disease and Strokes: Fat-generated inflammatory cytokines are the main contributors to heart disease and other inflammatory disorders. When your body is inflamed, your liver becomes overwhelmed with cholesterol and toxins, which leads to plaque buildup in your arteries. Visceral fat is associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular disease markers like high triglycerides, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
More Likely to Battle Dementia: Research shows that people with the biggest bellies have a higher risk of dementia than those with smaller bellies. The bigger the belly, the more negative impact felt on the brain’s memory . In fact, many experts now feel that visceral adipose tissue (VAT) levels rather than BMI should be considered as an important risk factor in the development of dementia.
Higher Likelihood to Have Depression and Mood Problems: Visceral fat is a unique pathogenic fat that consists of metabolically active adipose tissue that interferes with the hormones and healthy neurotransmitter function. Depression is especially associated with greater fat storage in women. In a study of middle-aged women over 50 years old, visceral fat, but not subcutaneous belly fat or waist circumference, was related to depressive symptoms.

How Can You Get Rid Of It?

Exercise: is an excellent way to reduce visceral fat. People should include both cardio vascular exercise, which raises a person’s heart rate and strength training, which improves muscle size, into their routines. Cardio exercise could include running, cycling, swimming, aerobics, circuit training. Strength training could include squats, weights, pushups.
Reduce Stress: When someone is stressed, their body releases a cortisol hormone, which increases how much visceral fat a person’s body stores. People with high visceral fat try to reduce their stress levels by relaxation techniques, such as meditation, deep breathing, and other stress management tactics, can help a person lose visceral fat more efficiently.
Diet: A healthy diet should include fruit and vegetables, whole grains like quinoa, millets and oatmeal, and lean protein like skinless chicken, fish, eggs, beans, complex carbohydrates such as sweet potatoes, beans. Studies suggest that more calcium and vitamin D in your body may be linked to less visceral fat. So load up on leafy greens like collards, spinach, tofu and sardines are also good picks, as are low-fat dairy foods like yogurt, cheese, and milk.

Boiling, steaming, baking, and grilling foods will help to make meals healthier and lower in fat. On the other hand, certain foods encourage belly fat like trans fats are found in meats and dairy as well as in deep-fried or processed foods. Also avoid sodas, candy, baked goods, and other foods sweetened with fructose. This is why it’s important to kick your sugar addiction and address weight gain and visceral fat formation early on, as opposed to letting the situation escalate. So, read labels and avoid ingredients like “partially hydrogenated oils” or “high-fructose corn syrup”.

We hope this article helps you! If you are keen on losing weight in a healthy, sustainable way, check out GOQii Transform for a personalized weight loss program you can manage! For more articles on weight loss, check out Healthy Reads.

To learn more about visceral fat and weight loss, speak to your GOQii Coach by subscribing for personalized coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

#BeTheForce

March 11, 2022 By Soni Thakur Leave a Comment

Menstrual Cramps & Ways To Combat It

Menstrual cramps are also called as Dysmenorrhea, like its name says ‘dys’ meaning difficult, ‘meno’ meaning month and ‘rrhea’ meaning flow i.e. difficult or painful monthly flow, and often a nightmare for most women. Its usual onset occurs around the time that menstruation begins. The pain is usually in the pelvis or lower abdomen.

Apart from this, there are certain other manifestations which women put up with during menstruation:

Nausea
Acidity
Acne
Bloating
Dizziness
Mood swings

Why Do We Get Menstrual Cramps?

Menstrual cramps are caused by an excess of “prostaglandins” hormones that are released from the endometrium (inner lining) of the uterus as it prepares to shed off. This is a necessary part of the process but in excess, it causes pain. If the uterus contracts strongly, blood flow is reduced and the supply of oxygen to the uterus muscle tissue decreases, causing severe pain.

Why Do Some Women Experience More Cramps Than Others?

This could be possibly due to inflammation. As a more inflamed tissue tends to produce more prostaglandins, it causes more severe pain. Other factors that contribute to menstrual cramps include:

Poor eating habits
Not having adequate amount of potassium and magnesium in diet
Lack of Exercise
Smoking
Drinking Alcohol

How Do You Combat It?

Women have to go through a lot in general, so there is no chance these creepy cramps would spare us but we know how to fight it! So, let’s find out some easy and effective ways to combat menstrual cramps.

Putting a heating pad on your belly or lower back.
Rubbing Lavender oil on your belly helps relieve period pain.
Ginger tea: Boil a piece of ginger in 250 ml water, simmer for 4-5 minutes and drink whenever required.
Carom seeds: Having 1 tbsp. of carom seeds by boiling them in a glass of water may ease menstrual cramps.
Eat potassium and magnesium rich foods like Bananas, oranges, grapefruit, raisins, dates, mushrooms, cucumbers, potatoes, sweet potatoes and dark chocolate (70% or more), nuts, legumes, tofu ,seeds, wholegrains ,green leafy vegetables respectively.
Use yoga: Some simple yoga poses to try out are Head to Knee forward bend, bound angle pose, Child’s pose and inverted leg pose.
Listen to good music that changes your mood or take a walk in nature or talk to your friends and family members. This will keep you engaged and diverted so you may not feel too much pain.

So, let’s try out these simple and effective ways to fight menstrual cramps and ease those difficult days! We hope this article helps you. Do leave your thoughts in the comments below. For more tips, check out Healthy Reads or you can get these home remedies and more directly from a GOQii Coach by subscribing for personalized health coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

#BeTheForce