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Role of social media / internet on our kid’s lifestyle and habits

social-media

Recently a girl came to me for consultation, asking specifically for a weight reduction diet. You will be surprised to know that the girl is just about 15 years old and yet to appear for her 10th-grade examination and can easily pass off as being on the heavier side (obese). While I was talking to her, she casually happened to mention that she has a habit of “munching snacks late at night while surfing the internet”. My observation says that this has become a common trend in today’s times.

Social media is now used for a host of different reasons and gone beyond just social interaction. It’s extended to information and even to seek entertainment. A life without internet seems next to impossible and unimaginable, but an excess of anything is bad and that is quite visible in the society in the recent times.

Social networking sites like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter are increasingly becoming popular among adolescents. Numerous studies have shown that Internet addiction has an adverse effect on several lifestyle-related factors in adolescents. Some important ill effects of the same are:-

  • Irregular dietary habits
  • Physical inactivity
  • Increased use of alcohol and tobacco
  • Adverse impact on the growth and development
  • Indirect negative effects through sleep deprivation
  • Obesity

Studies have shown that people are more likely to have meals while sitting at the computer than at the dining table. Majority of people are multitasking by working on different things at the same time such as eating food while surfing on internet, chatting with friends (Facebook) and writing emails etc. This multitasking is making us less efficient and productive.

Children are socializing through media channels and direct communication has now become limited. I know of a boy who is a champion in some of the online games while he simply hates to play anything in its physical form. He can almost be termed as a “couch potato” at the age of 8, which is very harmful for his overall development. Today, there is an increase in Child, Teenage and adult obesity than ever before. Excess weight issues or Obesity increases the risk of many other chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.

Research indicates that the light from the screens of TV/computer affects melatonin production, a key hormone in the body’s clock, or circadian system. This causes sleep deprivation as it interrupts deep, restorative sleep eventually causing an increase in stress and depressive symptoms. Thus, teaching adolescents to develop healthy eating habits is of critical importance.

Parents should act as a role model for their children by adopting a healthy lifestyle themselves. Providing nutritious meals and snacks, daily physical activity, and nutrition education can prevent many a life style disorders. Also meal time should be the family time as it provides children great opportunity to learn about healthy foods, balanced meals, and table manners and offers good time to spend with family. Parents should be vigilant on the use of internet by their children. To avoid the conflicts clear guidelines should be set regarding the time of the day your child is allowed to be online and for how long.

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Top 5 Health Benefits of Himalayan Single Clove Garlic

himalayan Clove

At Naturally Yours over the years I have met and spoken to hundreds of farmers, collectors and farm product distributors.

If I had to point out one thing that has always amazed me, it is the diverse agricultural heritage that we have across our country. Each region has a “gem” hidden away.

And yet they exist due to the strong knowledge and commitment that our farming community has towards preserving these little-known herbs and plants.

One such product that I came across a couple of years ago was the Himalayan Single Clove Garlic or the Snow Garlic or the Kashmiri Garlic (as this is found commonly in the Kashmir region of India) as it is popularly referred to as.

When I first saw this single clove garlic I was astonished at this small pointy somewhat lotus-like structure with a hard surface and pungent smell.

I clearly remember asking the farmer where the rest of the garlic is! The farmer calmly explained, Sir, this is all of it!

Himalayan Single Clove Garlic is one of the most potent herbs in the world and is known to be 7 times more potent than the normal Garlic.

7 Times! That blew my mind!

So I did my research to dig out all the facts & health benefits of this amazing herb.

  1. Reduces High Cholesterol Levels

Himalayan Single Clove Garlic is known to effectively reduce high cholesterol levels in the body. Research shows that garlic can lower about 20 mg/dl Cholesterol and Triglyceride levels in human body.

A popular recipe is to peel 3 or 4 cloves of garlic and have it on an empty stomach.

  1. Cures Cold & Cough

Scientist say Himalayan single clove garlic helps reduce the risk of getting cold and cough by over 50% when regularly consumed. In addition, it also reduces the chances of getting infected by other diseases. The presence of chemical compounds called Alliinase and Alliin helps create a powerful compound called Allicin when the bulbs are crushed or ground.

These powerful compounds help to alleviate cold and cough.  A syrup which is made of 2 bulbs crushed together and put in glass water and consumed is known to cure a cold and cough.

  1. Helps Fight Cancer 

Garlic inherently contains an organosulphur compound named diallyl trisulfide which helps fight cancer by helping the body to kill the cancerous cells. Researchers at the University of North Carolina have found that patients who consume garlic have a 66.67% per cent lesser probability to get cancer.

The National Cancer Institute says that consumption of garlic regularly reduces the risk of various cancers by 50% (average). This they attribute to the sulphur compound which helps to fight the cancerous cells in the body.

  1. Fights Diabetes

Researchers have found that consumption of 2-3 bulbs Himalayan Single Clove Garlic regularly helps decrease and control blood sugar levels. The presence of Allicin when combines with Vitamin B and Thiamine triggers the pancreas to generate insulin in the body. This, in turn, helps the body to fight diabetes effectively.

  1. Cures Heart Disease & High Blood Pressure

Himalayan Single Clove Garlic helps fight Heart Disease in two ways. One it reduces the LDL Cholesterol and the triglycerides in the body. Studies have shown that patients consuming garlic have up to 20% less LDL Cholesterol and triglycerides.

Second, it prevents the formation of plaque and clots by reducing the density of the blood. Scientists are of the view that patients consuming garlic regularly are 83% less prone to harmful blood clots.

In case of High Blood Pressure consumption of Himalayan Single Clove Garlic helps muscles relax and thereby help in reducing blood pressure levels.

A chemical compound called Hydrogen Sulfide present in garlic helps create this magic, which reduces the systolic and diastolic blood pressure in the body.

If you know of any more health benefits than the ones mentioned above please do share in the comments section below.

Ps Note: Himalayan Clove Garlic is available in GOQii Store

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Know all about ‘Eating Disorders’

eating problms

DO YOU look in the mirror and pick yourself apart? Do you constantly worry about what and how you look?

Ask yourself, “What percentage of your time in a day you are preoccupied with thoughts regarding food, weight, and body image?”

If your answer is that you spend so much time with these concerns that it interferes with your happiness and daily functioning, then let me tell you that you may be having an Eating Disorder.!

What Is an Eating Disorder?

Eating Disorders are illnesses that cause serious disturbances in a person’s everyday diet. They are characterized by irregular eating habits which include inadequate or excessive food intake which can damage individual’s well-being.

In addition to abnormal eating patterns, there are severe distress or concern about body weight and shape. An Eating Disorder also includes your beliefs about food and how they impact your body.

Who Suffers From Eating Disorder?

Eating disorders can develop during any stage in life but typically it appears during teen years or young adulthood but, may also develop in childhood. It can affect both men and women, however, it’s more common in women.

Eating disorder when manifested at a young age can cause severe impairment in growth development, and overall mental and social well- being.

Let’s move on to knowing three most common types of Eating Disorders

ANOREXIA NERVOSA

The Term Anorexia Nervosa literally means “Lack of Appetite induced by Nervousness”

This is perhaps the best- known eating disorder. It causes its sufferers to excessively fear to be overweight and restrict their eating habits in an unhealthy, dangerous way which leads to a significantly low body weight.

Male and female suffering from Anorexia show following hallmarks

  • Extremely limited food intake
  • Obsessive intense fear of weight gain
  • Problems with body image (Unrealistic perception of the body) and a low self-esteem
  • Denial of low body weight

Overtime, the following symptoms may develop as the body goes into starvation

Physical symptoms

  • Menstrual cessation
  • Osteopenia or osteoporosis(Thinning of bones)
  • Anaemia
  • Fatigue
  • Brittle nail and hair
  • Skin dries and can take on a yellowish cast
  • Severe constipation, Low BP

Emotional and behavioural symptoms

  • Excessive/Compulsive exercising
  • Frequently skipping a meal or refusing to eat
  • Denial of hunger
  • Frequent checking in the mirror for ‘perceived’ flaws
  • Flat mood(Lack of emotion)
  • Low self-esteem
  • Irritability
  • Low sex drive

BULIMIA NERVOSA

The Greek word for Bulimia is BOULIMIA which means extreme hunger. Patients with bulimia nervosa eat frequently in a discrete period of time (example within any 2 hour period) they also have a sense of lack of control over eating during the episode.

They often consume thousands of calories that are high in sugars, carbohydrates and fats. They can eat rapidly, sometimes gulping food without even tasting it.

After a binge, they PURGE their bodies of food and calories they FEAR by using laxatives, enemas, diuretics, vomiting or by excessive exercise. People with Bulimia can be underweight, overweight or even obese.

Many people don’t know when a family member or friend has Bulimia nervosa because they almost always hide their binges but Bulimia nervosa does have symptoms that should raise red flags:-

Physical Symptoms

  • Chronically inflamed or a sore throat
  • Salivary glands in the neck and below jaw bone swollen; cheeks and face often become puffy
  • Tooth enamel wears off and begins to decay from exposure to stomach acids
  • Constant vomiting causes GERD (Gastro oesophagal reflux disease)
  • Laxative and Diuretic abuse cause kidney and intestinal problems
  • Frequent Severe dehydration from purging of fluids

Emotional and Behavioural symptoms

  • Negative/distorted self- image
  • Hoarding or hiding food
  • Social withdrawal
  • Extreme guilt and sadness
  • Excessive worry about body weight and shape

binge eating

BINGE EATING DISORDER

It is a form of compulsive OVEREATING. Sufferers feel a compulsion to eat large amounts of food and as though they cannot stop and UNLIKE PEOPLE WITH BULIMIA, THEY DO NOT TRY TO PURGE OR GET RID OF FOOD BY INDUCING VOMITING AND BY USING OTHER UNSAFE PRACTICES.

Symptoms are more or less similar to Bulimia nervosa except for purging and laxative abuse.

Binge eaters eat a large amount of food when not feeling physically hungry, binge eating episodes typically take place in private and can last for hours or a whole day. It is common for sufferers to feel distressed or guilty about their lack of control, it is this shame and guilt that can prevent a person from talking and seeking help.

CAUSES

Eating disorders are complex thus are influenced by a facet of factors. Though the exact cause is unknown, it is generally believed that a combination of biological, psychological, and/or environmental abnormalities contribute to the development.

Certain psychological, biological/genetic, and personality traits may predispose people to develop eating disorders.

However specific traits are linked to each of the disorders. People with Anorexia tend to be perfectionists and with bulimia and binge eating disorder impulsive nature is common. Hormonal irregularities and nutritional deficiencies can be among causes. As discussed earlier in this blog, negative body image, dissatisfaction with one’s body and low self-esteem can help build tendency towards abnormal eating patterns.

Among Socio-cultural factors, the media has the largest influence on people especially teens and young adults. The media pushes body image, clothes, fast food and weight loss with unrealistic results, the combination of all these lead teens and young adults down the road to eating disorders and a confusing self- image.

And on another side of continuum popular social media pages and videos with a variety of recipes and restaurants tempt people to eat more and more.

Other causes include disruptive thinking patterns and an inability to understand the healthy relationship between food and hunger, family dysfunctions and major life stressors/changes, negative emotions or traumas such as rape, childhood sexual abuse or death of loved ones can also trigger eating disorders.

Even a happy event, such as giving birth can lead to an eating disorder because of the stressful impact of the event on an individual’s new role and body image.

IMPORTANCE OF TREATMENT

Eating disorder untreated can have serious consequences like Malnutrition, stunted growth, osteoporosis, reduced metabolic rate, critically low blood pressure, serious heart, kidney and liver damages, obesity, diabetes (TYPE 1 AND 2), depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder and substance abuse, cardiac arrests and even death!

Remember, the sooner the treatment starts, the better it is. The longer abnormal eating patterns continue the more deeply ingrained they become and more difficult to treat.

EFFECTIVE TREATMENT METHODS

  • PSYCHOTHERAPY
    • Cognitive Behaviour Therapy is a therapy focussing on the beliefs, values, maladaptive cognitive processes and negative emotions which are associated with meaning of weight, shape and appearance, it aims at reducing destructive eating patterns and restoring a healthy relationship with food. Psychologists identify important issues associated with causes of destructive eating habits and develop CBT plan respectively.
    • Dialectical Behavioural Therapy is a form of psychotherapy that helps to cope with painful emotions. The focus is on individuals who react to emotional circumstances with extreme behaviours. Weekly sessions help a person with Eating disorder practice mindful eating, distress tolerance and emotional regulation which focus on identifying barriers to changing emotions to constructive ones and to increase positive emotional events.
    • Incorporating Family, Group and Marital Therapy: This can be helpful in addressing the underlying causes of eating disorders and help prevent relapses by resolving interpersonal issues which are related to eating disorders.
  • Nutritional Counselling: This would involve a nutritionist’s guiding plan through weight restoration and stabilization, guidance for normal eating by keeping a food journal which includes type of food, amount, benefits, feelings thoughts associated with intake of food and drink, it also includes which binge foods are to be avoided. The inclusion of individualized meal plans for specific patients to improve nutritional intake is created.
  • Medication: Some patients with Bulimia Nervosa benefit from placebo or anti- depressants. But, medication should always be paired with psychotherapy and nutritional counselling.

A holistic approach involving all above methods/ways with an experienced team of caregivers and healthcare professionals can help patients suffering from eating disorder regain control of their eating behaviour and their lives!

Good Health is more than just being free from disease or injury. A healthy lifestyle helps you feel good, have a vibrant energy and maintain a positive outlook on life thereby contributing to your physical, mental, social well- being. Your mental health is as important as physical health and work hand-and-hand. Letting go of your eating disorder is one of many ways to move towards good health!

 

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Belly Fat and Coconut Oil

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Millions of people across America (not to mention worldwide) struggle with stubborn abdominal fat, which can be difficult to shed even when a healthy lifestyle is adopted. Not only is abdominal fat also called visceral fat or ‘belly fat,’ unsightly, it can lead to an increased risk of a number of health conditions.

Some of the risks associated with carrying excess fat around your middle are a greater susceptibility to type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Additionally, as this fat tends to coat vital organs, it can cause system-wide inflammation that can trigger an array of other chronic illnesses.

But according to the ground-breaking studies below, the effects of coconut oil on abdominal fat will surprise you!

Cold pressed coconut oil is probably the most ‘prescribed’medicine food that I have been using in my practice over the last one and a half year with clients and patients worldwide.

Be it thyroid, cancer, alzheimers, dementia, parkinsons, epilepsy, diabetes to even burning belly fat, this wonder super food is a miracle drug

Study 1
A 2009 study published in the Journal of Lipids consisted of testing the effects of either 2 tablespoons of coconut oil or 2 tablespoons of soybean on a group of 40 women over a span of 28 days.
Results showed that the group that ate the coconut oil had a decrease in abdominal fat, while the soybean oil group actually showed a slight increase in belly fat. Additionally, the group that ate the coconut oil showed increased HDL ‘good’ cholesterol levels, while the soybean oil group had decreased HDL cholesterol and increased LDL ‘ bad’ cholesterol.

Study 2
The Journal of Nutrition published a study where researchers investigated all studies relative to medium chain fatty acids (MCFAs) that are abundant in coconut fat and weight management. The studies showed that diets rich in fats such as those found in coconut oil prompted a boost in metabolism, increase in energy, decrease in food consumption, reduced body weight and lower body fat mass. The authors of the study highly recommends using oils that contain MCFAs, such as coconut oil, as a tool to drop extra abdominal fat, manage a healthy weight, and even as a way to treat obesity.

Study 3
Yet another study that assessed body weight and fat storage relative to three different types of diets including a low-fat diet, high-fat diet with long chain fatty acids (LCFAs) and a high fat diet with MCFAs. In order to bring about weight gain, caloric intakes were adjusted for the diets.

At the end of the research period (which lasted 44 days), the low-fat diet group stored an average of 0.47 grams of fat per day, the LCFA group stored 0.48 grams of fat per day, and the MCFA group only stored a mere 0.19 grams per day (despite purposely increasing calories). Those in the MCFA group (coconut fat) had a 60 percent reduction in body fat stored compared to the other diets.

Another added bonus of consuming organic coconut oil (and coconut cream or milk) is that it tends to make us feel fuller for longer. Studies indicate that MCFAs help increase feelings of fullness and lead to a reduction in calorie intake when compared to the same amount of calories from other fats. When MCFAs are metabolized, ketone bodies are created in the liver – these have been shown to have a strong appetite reducing effect helping you to lose fat faster.

I have personally switched to using this oil for all of my cooking and juices and since its cold pressed, it doesn’t really have a strong coconut flavor and doesn’t alter the change in taste of the food that much.

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