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Natural Skincare For Healthy, Glowing Skin!

Natural SkincareOne is always on the lookout for that “miracle cream” that will make our skin glow and make us fair. Most of us in the literal sense, abuse our skin. We expose our facial skin to various creams, lotions and skincare treatments. No matter how we take it, our skin regulates our body’s temperature, protects us from bacteria and viruses that cause infectious diseases.

We often give much attention to our facial skin for obvious reasons. But, we should definitely try to maintain and keep our entire covering (skin) healthy rather than focusing only on the face.

There are many superficial skincare treatments available in the market to bring a glow to your skin. However, as a dietician, I will be showing you ways to keep your skin healthy by foods found in your kitchen itself.

You will be surprised to know that there is a strong link between the food you eat and the health of your skin. Your food choices are literally reflected on your skin!

Vitamins

Vitamins like B complex, A, D, E, and C are known to play an important role in maintaining healthy skin. They have chemicals called photochemicals which help in preserving the body from various bacterial, viral and free radical invasions. They also have anti-oxidant properties which helps the skin from the oxidative damage caused by stress, pollution and the body’s own reaction.  

Nutrition Tips for Skincare

  • Eat at least 5-6 servings of fresh fruits and vegetables daily
  • Make your salad more colorful! The more colors you add, the more it benefits your skin
  • Try drinking Amla (Indian Gooseberry) juice every day. I would say, “An Amla a day, keeps the dermatologist away”
  • Drink fresh fruit juices. Try a different juice every week. For instance, juices you could try include Cranberry, blueberry and orange juice, etc.

Supplementation for Skincare

Supplementation helps in maintaining healthy skin. Apart from the cosmetic point of view, many dermatologists now recommend nutritional supplements to tackle issues like acne. Supplementation of multivitamins and omega 3/ fish oil capsules have shown positive effects on skin.

Supplementation is needed when a person’s daily requirement of a certain nutrient is inadequate. Hence, before starting off with any nutritional supplement, consult your dietitian.

Foods to Avoid

As mentioned above, the kind of food we eat reflects on our skin. Junk food, fatty foods, carbonated drinks, alcohol, and refined products affect your skin. This can be attributed to the fact that these foods have a negative impact on health by hindering the absorption of certain nutrients. Also smoking can accelerate the aging process, causing wrinkles even before time.

Water Intake

This is tried and tested all over and also considered as a “Gharelu Nuska” – meaning home remedy. Drinking enough water and maintaining good hydration retains the moisture of the skin. Drinking adequate water clears out toxins and waste from the body keeping it healthy. This is indirectly seen through the skin.

Stress and Sleep vs. Skin

Ever wondered why you can see acne on your face when you are stressed?

Research has shown a positive link between stress and its effects on the skin. Getting a good night’s sleep and de-stressing yourself from everyday routine can be helpful and can also improve your skin. Insufficient sleep causes dark circles around the eyes.

Early morning yoga outdoors will not only reduce your stress level but will also give you your daily dose of Vitamin D. There is a research that shows a strong link between stress and skin ageing. I am sure nobody wants to look old, right? Try de-stressing yourself every time you find it’s taking a toll on your health.

Exercise and Skincare

It is the key to healthy skin! We are well aware of the benefits of exercise and cardio respiratory fitness, but little do we know about its effect on the skin. Regular exercise helps in regulating blood flow to our body especially the skin. Blood not only carries oxygen but it also carries nutrients to our cells. By increasing the blood flow, exercise nourishes skin cells, keeping them healthy and vital!

Nutrition is one the important components that modulate the vibrancy of your skin. As a dietician, I believe we should stop taking our skin for granted. We need to think beyond creams, make ups and laser treatments. Nourish your skin not through chemicals but with proper nutrition, regular exercise and good sleep!

We hope you found these insights helpful in your journey to healthier, more vibrant skin. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below. For more skincare tips and guidance, explore Healthy Reads or ask a GOQii Coach by subscribing for Personalised Health Coaching here.

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Types of Fat and Fat Composition

fat composition“I can’t lose weight no matter how hard I try!” – this sentence is pretty common, isn’t it? Ever wondered why? The answer lies in the extra fat deposition on our bones and organs which become an obstacle for our weight loss journey. The key to slimming down is understanding that fat loss is more important than weight loss. Let’s study about how we gain fat and fat composition in detail!

What is Fat?

Fats are substances that help the body use some vitamins and keep the skin healthy. They also help the body store energy. In food, there are different types of fats such as saturated, unsaturated, polyunsaturated, monounsaturated, and trans fats. Most people consume too much of the wrong kinds of fat, putting their health at risk.

Good Fat vs. Bad Fat

Daily diet contains fat such as different oils (sunflower, peanut, rice bran, olive oil, sesame etc.), ghee (clarified butter), butter, cheese, avocados, eggs, nuts, seeds, milk, curd etc. (these are good fats). All these give us essential fats and 9kcal/g which helps the body function smoothly. They aid joint rotation, absorption of fat soluble Vitamins A, D, E and K. They’re the biggest source of energy.

The questions is where are we going wrong? How are we getting those chubby cheeks, round bellies, heavy arms and bulky thighs?

Do we consider how much fat we’re consuming when eating a 100g pack of chips? One packet of chips contains 100g but in serving portion, the manufacturer will only write 10g calories which amounts to approx. 20-28 pieces of chips which contain 160kcal, 7g fats and 16g carbohydrates. But do we only eat 28 pieces? It’s the same with burgers, pizzas, white paste, 2 minute noodles, biscuits, cookies and more. It has been shown that fat intake of the wrong kind will result in fat gain. As the body typically burns carbs for fuel and uses proteins for repair, it makes sense to cut back on bad fat while increasing good fat.

Different Types of Fat

The word “Fat” is broadly used to describe all body fats but that’s not true. There are several different types. Some fats can have a negative impact on health while others are necessary for good health. They can be stored as essential, subcutaneous or visceral fat. Each type of fat serves a different role. Some promote healthy metabolism and hormone levels, while others contribute to life-threatening diseases, including Type 2 Diabetes, Heart Disease, High Blood Pressure and even Cancer.

  1. Essential Fat: Essential fat is exactly that – essential for life and a healthy body. This fat is found in our brain, bone marrow, nervous system and membranes that protect the organs. Essential fat plays a major role in hormone regulation, including the hormones that control fertility, vitamin absorption, and temperature regulation. Women need at least 10-13% of their body composition to come from essential fat to be in good health, while men require at least 2-5%.
  2. Subcutaneous Fat: This is the fat which is stored under the skin. It covers a major portion of our body fat. This is the fat we can squeeze or pinch on our arms, belly, thighs, and buttocks. We can measure subcutaneous fat as a way of estimating total body fat percentage. A certain amount of subcutaneous fat is normal and healthy, but too much can lead to imbalanced hormone levels and sensitivity.
  3. Visceral Fat: This type is also known as belly fat. It is the white fat that’s stored in your abdomen and around all the major organs such as the liver, kidneys, pancreas, intestines, and heart. High visceral fat levels can increase your risk for diabetes, heart disease, stroke, artery disease, and some cancers.

Body Fat Composition

The proper body fat composition and distribution of fat will protect us from various risk factors and diseases. Women have different sights of fat deposition such as thighs, arms, buttocks, below the belly button, etc. Men experience this on their chest, belly, and waist. This deposition is different because of the varying percentage of testosterone (male hormone) and estrogen (female hormone).

In males, mean percentage body fat ranges from 22.9% at age 16-19 to 30.9% at 60-79 years of age. In females, mean percentage body fat ranges from 32% at age 8-11 to 42.4% at age 60-79. There is a close relation between fat and physical exercise as regular exercises helps you burn stored fat. Exercise helps you turn deposited fat into an energy source.

We hope this article helps you. To know more about fats, check out Healthy Reads or ask a GOQii Coach by subscribing for Personalised Health Coaching here.

#BeTheForce 

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2 Breathing Techniques For Better Sleep

breathing techniques for better sleep

Do you have trouble getting sleep despite the fact that you are tired? Sleeping well is an art. It needs a perfect blend of healthy habits and control of mind. A clean body and mind, relaxed mood, physical exercises, and perfect dietary control are some of the basic sleep-inducing methods. However, one of the best ways to bring the body into its relaxed state is – BREATHING! How do breathing techniques for better sleep work? Let’s find out!

Breathing Techniques For Better Sleep

Breathing deeply has been proven to affect the heart, the brain, digestion, the immune system and even the expression of genes. Research has shown that breathing exercises like Pranayama can have immediate effects by altering the pH of the blood, or changing blood pressure. But, more importantly, they can be used as a method to train the body’s reaction to stressful situations and dampen the production of harmful stress hormones and help induce sleep.

Here are 2 important breathing methods to calm the mind and induce sleep naturally.

1.  The 4-7-8 Technique

How To Do It?
This process is recommended by Dr. Andrew Weil, a practitioner and teacher of integrative medicine for the last thirty years. To do this exercise, sit up in bed with your back straight or lie down on a straight back and press the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth right behind your front teeth. Maintaining that position, close your mouth and inhale through your nose for four counts, hold that breath for seven counts, and then exhale through your mouth around your tongue for eight counts. Repeat this pattern until you have completed four full breaths.

How It Works?
The 4-7-8 breathing technique is effective because it encourages the fast removal of carbon dioxide. Doing so equates into a better preservation of the bicarbonate pool; our reservoirs for helping maintain an appropriate pH balance. Also, it allows the lungs to become fully charged with air, allowing more oxygen into the body, which promotes a state of calm.

2. Left Nostril Breathing 

How To Do It?
Simply take your right hand and with your fingers outstretched, block off your right nostril by putting gentle pressure on it with your right thumb.  Be sure to keep the rest of your fingers straight and pointing up. With a long, slow, deep breath, gently inhale through your left nostril.  Then, just as gently, exhale long, slowly and completely, again through the left nostril. Do this for at least 3 minutes; chances are you might doze of even before that!

How It Works?
When we’re under stress or feeling anxious, we tend to breathe mostly out of our right nostril, which is connected to our left brain. This activates our sympathetic nervous system, the channel responsible for the classic stress response – dilated pupils, increased core temperature, sweating, and increased heart rate and blood pressure. And when we start breathing through the left nostril the parasympathetic system gets activated which slows us down and helps our body automatically run its day to day jobs of digestion, elimination, sleep cycles and more.

Apart from these 2 breathing techniques for better sleep, you can also try meditation or mindfulness by just observing your breath as it goes in and as it comes out. Connecting with this rise and fall of the breath, and noticing where you feel that breath move within the body can help you begin the process of relaxing tense muscles and create a coherent heart pattern which brings an instant state of tranquil and helps you drift off to peaceful deep sleep.

We hope this article helps you sleep better! Do you meditate before you go to bed? What helps you sleep better? Leave your thoughts in the comments below! For more articles on sleep, check out Healthy Reads or you can get tips directly from a GOQii Coach by subscribing for Personalised Health Coaching here.

#BeTheForce

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Foods To Manage Blood Sugar Naturally

manage blood sugar

By now, we’re all aware that Diabetes is a condition in which the body is unable to control the glucose entering the bloodstream. Along with medicines, food is key to controlling it. As it is a slow progressive disorder, it makes our organs weak and affects their functioning like a slow poison. Hence, it is really important to keep our blood sugar levels under control. Let’s see how we can manage blood sugar naturally with food. 

Foods That Manage Blood Sugar Naturally 

High blood sugar occurs when your body can’t effectively transport sugar from blood into cells. If sugar levels go high, you need to add the following food to your diet. 

1. Eat More Green Leafy Veggies
Leafy green vegetables are extremely nutritious and low in calories. They’re also very low in digestible carbs, so they won’t significantly affect blood sugar levels. Spinach, kale, methi, bathua and other leafy greens are good sources of many vitamins and minerals, including vitamin C. People with diabetes have a greater requirement of vit C as it acts as a potent antioxidant and also has anti-inflammatory qualities. Increasing dietary intake of vitamin C-rich foods can help people with diabetes increase their serum vitamin C levels while reducing inflammation and cellular damage. In addition, leafy greens are good sources of the antioxidants – lutein, zeaxanthin. These antioxidants protect your eyes from macular degeneration and cataracts, which are common diabetes complications. Leafy green vegetables are rich in nutrients like Vitamin C, as well as antioxidants that protect your heart and eye health. You can add these veggies in all meals in different forms like sabji, soup, salads, in roti , paratha, chutneys etc.

2. Addition of Micronutrients
Chromium is involved in carb and fat metabolism. It also helps control blood sugar levels. Lack of chromium may predispose you to carb intolerance. Chromium rich foods include egg yolks, whole-grain products like millets, coffee, nuts, green beans, broccoli and meat (in moderation).

Magnesium-rich foods include dark leafy greens, whole grains, fish, dark chocolate, bananas, avocados and beans (not matured).

3. Reduce Carb Intake
Reduction in carb intake not more than 100grams per day, avoiding simple carbs like maida products and packet atta as well. Try to get coarse atta which has wheat husk, add isabgol in roti to reduce the spike in sugar levels after meals. Add whole grains like millets, jawar, chana, chia seeds and quinoa to your daily meals.

4. Add a Good Amount of Nuts
All types of nuts contain fiber and are low in net carbs, high in essential oils and protein to regulate sugar levels and provide nutrients.

  • Almonds: 2.6 grams
  • Brazil nuts: 1.4 grams
  • Cashews: 7.7 grams
  • Hazelnuts: 2 grams
  • Macadamia: 1.5 grams
  • Pecans: 1.2 grams
  • Pistachios: 5 grams
  • Walnuts: 2 grams

5. Add Seeds To Your Diet
These are rich in good fats, protein, dietary fibers and have the ability to reduce hunger pangs and craving for sugar. They also provide constant energy supply to diabetics.

  • Flax seeds – 1 to 2tbps per day 
  • Sunflower seeds – 2tbs per day
  • Pumpkin seeds – 2tbps per day
  • Sesame seeds – 1tbps per day
  • Methi seeds – 1 to 2tsp soaked.

Nuts and seeds can be easily added as evening snacks, in salads and to your morning breakfast too.

People with diabetes often experience low blood sugar levels. Certain medications, excessive alcohol consumption, some critical illnesses and hormone deficiencies can also cause hypoglycemia without diabetes. To fix this, you can have:

  • A small apple, banana, or orange
  • 15 grapes
  • A few prunes
  • 2 tablespoons of raisins or dates
  • 1/2 cup of juice or regular (not diet) soda
  • 1 tablespoon of honey or sugar
  • Hard candy, jellybeans, or gummy candy check on ingredients before consuming.
  • Glucose tablets or Lemon sharbat with sugar but without salt. 

These are a few foods we need to add to our diet to manage blood sugar naturally – this along with exercise for approx 30 mins a day. For more on managing blood sugar, check out Healthy Reads or consult a GOQii Coach by subscribing for Personalised Health Coaching here.

#BeTheForce 

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