Search Results for: liver

September 24, 2014 By POOJA SINGH Leave a Comment

Commando Coriander and its benefits

Coriander Leaves are commonly present in most of the homes in Indian family. It is mostly used in garnishing Indian dishes. It is considered both as a spice and a herb. Health Benefits of coriander are numerous. Its dark green color makes it more attractive and appealing to taste, little did we know that these leaves are loaded with innumerable health benefits. There is a huge list of nutrients that this herb contains. To start with, it is a very good source of Vitamin A, C and K and traces of B vitamin are noticed. In the mineral department it provides high amount of calcium and potassium. Both of these have are helpful for relieving various ailments. Then there is also iron, manganese and sodium and is also a wonderful source of Dietary fiber. Coriander has been called Commando Coriander because regular consumption of coriander in good amount gives the body lot of phytonutrient which helps to combat lot of diseases and also helps in preventing them. Some of the health benefits of coriander are as follows. Coriander leaves contain Lianol and essential oil that can help detoxify the liver and help in bowel movements. It contains anti-inflammatory properties. This is why it is good against inflammatory diseases such as Arthritis. Coriander has antiseptic properties because of presence of Complex vitamin, this makes it helpful to cure mouth ulcers. Coriander contains high amount of Iron which makes it useful in treatment of Anemia. Coriander is good for eyes. Antioxidant in coriander prevent eye diseases. Its good remedy in treatment of conjunctivitis. Vitamin K present in Coriander is useful in treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. The fat soluble vitamin and antioxidant vitamin A in Coriander protects from lung and cavity cancer. With these numerous health benefits, consuming coriander on regular basis will help you keep away many health Problems?? So, go ahead, garnish coriander and let it work as your Commando for a Healthy and Disease Free Life.

September 15, 2014 By MANISHA GURAM Leave a Comment

Healthy Vision

One day while going through nutrition book and while surfing the net, I was surprised to see lack of blogging and articles on one body part that is the eye. Since my childhood I have noticed that we take our eyes for granted. Just because you are seeing well and have no irritation, one does not think it is necessary to go in for an eye examination till a problem arises. Well! It can be too late! Do you know your vision keeps getting worse as you age?

While in School almost 70 % of us have faced blurred vision not able to read the blackboard clearly. Also most of us have spent out childhood sitting close to the television, rubbing eyes and these problems still persist and we still neglect them most of the times. You neglect it till it gets worse and then get spectacles without which you can see at all.

Healthy vision should be of priority since childhood. The challenge begins from viewing the black board, ability to see clearly on a computer. If neglected the same persists in adulthood. Modern day computing and internet means spending more time with your smartphone and computer screen. Two hours with computer means tired, strained feeling such as eyestrain, redness, irritation, dryness, burning, blurred vision, headaches and neck and shoulder pain.

A healthy eye is an indicator of good health. It is important to maintain healthy weight for healthy eye, being overweight or obese increases the risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular diseases, each of these damage vessels in eye and lead to vision loss in an individual. There is a strong correlation between eyes and diseases.

Diabetes is one of the leading causes for blindness among individuals in many countries especially in the age group of 20 – 74. Therefore, it is important for everyone who has diabetes to check their eyes regularly. High blood pressure and high cholesterol levels lead to cataracts (clouding of eye with proteins and glaucoma). The shocking thing is you may not realize that you are suffering from a disease or you have diabetes mellitus until you experience loss of vision.

Lack of proper nutrients such as essential vitamins and minerals in the regular diet also results in conditions like xeropthalmia. In India, Malnutrition is serious health problem leading to night blindness- a common ailment. In developed countries like America more than 8 million people face vision problems like age related macular degeneration (AMD) that causes blindness in people in their 60s, while the symptoms show late damage occurs decades earlier. Most leading eye problems are AMD, Cataract, Diabetic retinopathy, Glaucoma, dry eyes, conjuctivits and many more…

Therefore I would say why wait till a problem arises? Dietary intake prevention and lifestyle modification plays important role in healthy vision.

Free radicals bring about oxidation which is the evil for good vision as it destroys epithelial layer in eye & deeper ones of the cornea. Antioxidants( vitamin A,C,E, lutein ,zeaxanthin & zinc) present in fruits and vegetables help fighting against these free radicals which minimize the damage to your cells.

Diet modifications:

VITAMIN C

Citrus fruits are powerful topmost antioxidants such as vitamin C, retinas of our eye require vitamin c to maintain proper nerve cell function. Vitamin C with essential nutrients slows AMD. Grapes, strawberries, papaya, orange, green peppers, Peaches, blueberries, mango, tomato, apricot & cabbage all provide Vitamin C.

VITAMIN E

Vitamin E works along with vitamin C. It is a Powerful antioxidant in nuts, cereals, wheat germ, sunflower seeds and sweet potatoes. It Protects retina from damage caused by smoking and alcohol.

VITAMIN A

Yellow orange coloured fruits and vegetables like Oranges, lettuce, bell peppers, tuna, mango, kiwis, grapefruits, dried apricots, tomatoes, peppers & raw carrots contain good amount of vitamin A.

OMEGA 3 RICH FOODS

Salmon, Tuna, flaxseed, walnuts, canola oil, soyabeans for visual function and retina development.

ZINC

Essential helper molecule as it brings the vitamin A from liver to the retina to produce melanin that protects eyes. Nuts, legumes, Oyester, turkey and crab are rich in zinc.

LUTEIN AND ZEAXANTHIN

Green leafy vegetables like spinach and kale contains Lutein and Zeaxanthin which absorb the damaging light, help retina cells off free radicals and reduce risk of macular degeneration. Eggs yellow peppers mango, kale, spinach, broccoli, green peas , sprouts.

Lifestyle modifications

We all know that in this fast moving World we can’t avoid computers and smartphones but in order to keep your eyes healthy give your eyes a break from the computer screen every 20 mins or more for atleast 30 secondss.
Make sure your lens has not expired, blink your eyes more to avoid dryness.
Quit smoking as it increases risk of cataracts.
Protect eyes from sun, ultraviolet rays by wearing right kind of sun glasses.
Remove eye makeup using coconut oil.
Use proper lighting to avoid eyestrain.
Get eyes examined regularly.
Relax your eyes by doing some eye exercises like rubbing your palm and keeping it on your eye.

We eat the right food to slim down and get into shape, but eyes are the mirror of a human soul and they are most important for a healthy life.

September 10, 2014 By Shimpli Patil 3 Comments

THE TRUTH ABOUT CHOLESTEROL

Cholesterol is something which most people regard as a “villain” of health. All thanks to the increasing rate of heart disease and other related complications. It’s true that a diet consistently high in cholesterol and saturated fats takes a person on the path of heart ailments, but it’s also true that if one were to totally shun cholesterol, one would age very fast as the cell replacement would be hampered, the skin would become loose and premature wrinkles would appear. Does that surprise you? Oh yes it will! So, cholesterol is bad…and cholesterol is good as well. While too much cholesterol can be harmful, just the right amount of it does a lot of important work in the body.

Majority of the total body cholesterol is synthesized in the liver and some of it is obtained from foods. Among the food sources, cholesterol comes only from animal foods. Foods that contain saturated fats (dairy products, hydrogenated vegetable oils, egg yolk, red meat, coconut, cashews, etc.) are the indirect sources of cholesterol as saturated fat is converted into cholesterol when it enters the body.

There are various functions of Cholesterol which are indispensible to the body:

Cholesterol plays a very important role in both the creation and maintenance of human cell membrane
It helps produce bile acids which aids in digestion and vitamin absorption.
It aids in the synthesis of Vitamin D
It plays a role in producing hormones such as oestrogen in women and testosterone in men.

Let’s understand that all cholesterol isn’t the same. There’s good cholesterol called HDL (high density lipoprotein) and bad cholesterol called LDL (Low density Lipoprotein).

HDL cholesterol sweeps away the extra cholesterol from cells and tissues and takes it to liver where it is broken down and passed from the body. A healthy range of HDL cholesterol is known to protect against heart diseases, while low levels have been shown to increase the risk of it.

Whereas LDL cholesterol, the “bad man”, contributes to plaque formation, a thick, hard deposit that can clog arteries making them less flexible which sets the process of heart disease in motion.

In order to prevent heart disease, it is very important to maintain the good and bad cholesterols in their healthy range. LDL Cholesterol should always be under 130 mg/dl and HDL should be above 60 mg/dl, and the total cholesterol ought to be within 200 mg/dl.

How do we maintain these healthy levels? In terms of diet, the high-fat diets that raise LDL also raise HDL, while low-fat diets lower both. However, there are certain foods which lower the LDL and up the HDL levels. These are the foods rich in omega 3. Omega 3 is a miraculous nutrient found in walnuts, flaxseeds, flaxseed oil, fish, fish oil, chia seeds, etc. which helps maintain the healthy ratio of HDL:LDL. Apart from diet, of course exercise, genetics other lifestyle factors also play a role in maintaining the levels. People who exercise, don’t smoke and maintain a healthy weight tend to have higher levels of HDL.

Thus, all that we need to make sure is to eat wisely, exercise regularly and thereby maintain the healthy lipid levels and secure your heart!

September 2, 2014 By Mohammed Tufail Qureshi Leave a Comment

Myth about Spot Reduction

One of the common questions as a fitness trainer I have encountered is if spot reduction- reducing fat from a particular area is possible or not?

If a gym client has a problem collecting more fat around the abdominal area or generally a woman collecting more fat around the lower body they always request the trainers to give them more exercises for the abs or the lower body. But, is spot reduction actually possible? or is it a myth?

As a teenager we collect less amount of fat despite eating all the junk food. One major reason for this is while in the youth, the amount of muscle mass that we carry is more as compared to an elderly person. Hence, the BMR of a youth is quite high when as a teenager and it remains high up to the age of 24 or 25 years of age. Post 25, the degeneration sets in and the muscle mass starts to decline. Muscle being a metabolically active tissue contributes towards increasing the BMR. With the muscle mass degenerating, the BMR also drops and the individual starts collecting fat all over the body. But, in every individual there is a spot where he/she collects more fat then the other parts of the body.

The collection of fat in particular spots is dictated by an individual’s genetics. When, I say pre-decided by genetics, it means that it runs in the family. It is now important to understand how this happens?

Here we need to understand the role of 2 important hormones in our body

1) Insulin and 2) Glucagon.

Insulin acts like a transporter of micro and macro nutrients into the liver and muscle cells. Insulin also plays a role of maintaining the blood sugar levels after a high carbohydrate meal by lowering the blood sugar levels and avoids a person from going into Hyperglycemia (high blood sugar levels).

Glucagon on the other hand is a hormone that again maintains blood sugar levels by increasing the blood sugar level during long hours of starvation or when an individual lowers the carbohydrate intake in his meals. Here, glucagon plays the role of raising the blood sugar levels and avoids the state of hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar levels).

After having simple carbohydrates such as sugar, chocolates, white rice, white bread, some fruits with high glycemic index, potatoes and other starch, the conversion of these foods into sugar is very fast and it increases the blood sugar levels.

Please note the sugar that is stored within the muscle as muscle glycogen is preserved by the body for any high intense anaerobic activity that we perform in our day to day activity (like running fast or lifting some heavy object etc)

In order to loose fat, a person needs to cut down on simple carbohydrates and keep complex carbohydrate in a reduced quantity (as and when required) as well as start in taking good amount of fibres and protien.When carbohydrates are reduced,
the body is deprived of energy so it starts surviving on the blood sugar for energy. The blood sugar levels drop then to normal thereby leading to hypoglycemia. This activates the pancreas to release Glucagon.

Glucagon starts to maintain the blood sugar levels by raising it. Since the sugar inflex is reduced from outside, the glucagon has no option but to use liver glycogen to raise the blood sugar levels. Once, the liver storage of glycogen is over, it moves to the muscle glycogen. Muscle glycogen is not released by the body as it is reserved for a high intense activity. Now glucagon has no other option but to move towards the fat cell to get energy for survival. Here, one more enzyme known as the HSL (Hormone sensitive lipase) which is on the fat cell allows the triglycerides to exit from the fat cell in the form of free fatty acid into the blood stream and it is used up by the tissues as a source of energy.

This is already programmed by our genetics and cannot be changed through any exercise or spot reduction techniques.

Performing abdominal exercises will definitely strengthen the abdominal muscles which will help an individual to increase his or her functionality in day to day activities as well as it will also help in lifting a decent poundage in functional movements like squats, Lunges, Bendover rows, Overhead presses and Regular deadlifts. But, abdominal exercises DO NOT give you a spot reduction. Hence, the intention of abdominal workout is increasing strength of the abdomen and not spot reduction.

Fat loss is all throughout the body because it catogorized as BODY FAT and not fat of the abdomen, arms, back, chest or legs.