GOQii

Blog

Search Results for: heart

By Leave a Comment

Stay Healthy and Save Money

budget-health

Today’s Union Budget presented by Union Minister for Finance Arun Jaitley provides for new health protection scheme that will provide health cover up to Rs One lakh per family. And for senior citizens an additional top-up package up to Rs 30,000 will be provided. This is good but, how about staying healthy and reducing health costs once for all.

Lifestyle plays an important role in heart ailments but, perhaps many have not taken this to heart. Getting angioplasties and stents that cost thousands of rupees do not prolong life or prevent heart attacks in stable patients. Similarly, lowering blood sugar with drugs does not fully prevent the economic and human costs of diabetes (including heart attacks, strokes, amputations, impotence, kidney failure, and blindness), but lowering blood sugar with diet and lifestyle prevents all of these human and economic costs.

Bringing about lifestyle changes is easier said than done. Simple lifestyle changes like walking or cycling instead of driving, climbing stairs instead of taking an elevator, eating nutritious food or making dietary changes, exercising on a daily basis and incorporating some behavior modification technique can have a big impact on you and your pocket for the better. And rather than buy a pricey gym membership to get in shape, there are ways to work out on the cheap or choose a fitness tracker with a coach to guide you.

Her are 6 healthy habits that can keep you fit.

  • Portion Control and Mindful Eating: Watching how much you eat is one of the best ways to maintain your weight. Have smaller portions of food instead of filling your plate in one go and have 5 small meals a day that is healthy and nutritious. This will help you manage your weight, keep your cool, maintain your focus and avoid cravings.
  • Exercise Daily: The best way to start your day is with some good physical activity. We all know the importance of physical activity, but still only a less percentage of the population in the world follow the same. Exercise has been found to decrease your chances of depression, anxiety, and stress. It is also related to higher success in your career. If you don’t care about your body, every other aspect of your life will suffer. Take care of your body. It is the only place you live.
  • Have Enough Water: Staying well hydrated is one of our body’s basic needs. Water is needed to enable the body to keep eliminating the toxins generated, to produce digestive enzymes, maintain healthy skin, hair, organs and to help your body absorb essential vitamins, minerals and natural sugars. Water also regulates the body temperature, cooling one down by evaporating through the skin. Drinking at least 3 litres of water a day is a must.
  • Get A Healthy 7+ Hours of Sleep: Sleep plays a vital role in good health and well-being throughout your life. Getting enough quality sleep at the right time can help protect your mental and physical health, quality of life, and safety. Sleep is just as important as eating and drinking water. Despite this, millions of people do not sleep enough and experience insane problems as a result. The way you feel while you’re awake depends partly on how you have slept or what kind of sleep you have had. During sleep, your body is working to support healthy brain function and maintain your physical health.
  • Think Positive and have a sense of Gratitude: Being positive and thinking positive builds a healthier immune system and boosts overall health. Body believes what you think so think positive. Gratitude is good for our bodies, our minds, and our relationships. Showing gratitude also keeps one happy. Gratitude also blocks toxic and negative emotions and
  • Avoid Stress: The human body is designed to experience stress and react to it. Here are few things you can do to avoid stress. Namely meditate, deep breathing, be alert, relax, laugh out loud, listen to music, and chase your hobbies.

So let’s stay healthy and save money and rather use that money for things we love to do.

By 4 Comments

My Love for ‘Ghee’ and its 14 benefits

ghee_040312114403_041212010245

Whenever I close my eyes and recollect my childhood or pregnancy happiness’ I feel that amazing smell of Ghee, the pure, unadulterated, smooth and delicious ghee or better known as Clarified butter largely made out of Cow’s milk.

I still remember my childhood days when my mom used to fry Luchis also called Poories–Indian fried Wheat bread in ghee and I simply relished it the divine smell of ghee. And I equally relish Indian sweets made in pure claified butter. Even our lentils used to be tempered with ghee, rotis with ghee spread on them, ghee with steaming hot rice, ghee to top the veggies, ghee ke laddoos……. the list is never ending.

I grew up having loads of clarified butter, but it’s only when I did my Masters in Food & nutrition that I got a clearer view on ghee or clarified butter and my love for it.

Being a Nutritionist & a mom of two young kids, I have always been posed with the question how is it that I give my kids food with so much ghee? Well the fact is that Ghee is safe to have and that it has several nutritional benefits

Before we come to the benefits let’s look at some facts and what science says

FACTS

Ayurveda says

Among the four kinds of fat namely Gritha (ghee), Taila (oil), Vasa (fat), Majja (bone marrow) Ayurveda considers GHEE as the best among these. According to Ayurveda, ghee made from cow’s milk promotes memory, intellect and digestion. It also promotes healing of wounds, keeps the skin lustrous and maintains immunity.

Science says 

Modern science has discovered that ghee is rich in antioxidants. The fats in ghee aid absorption of fat-soluble vitamins and minerals from other foods, strengthening the immune system. Ghee is also rich in butyric acid, a fatty acid with anti-viral properties, which is believed to prevent cancers and tumours.

Recent research has also detected presence of linoleic acid in ghee. Linoleic acid retards the growth of some cancers and protects us from heart disease. This acid is often lacking in a vegetarian diet.

According to B S Raheja, the ex-director of All India Institute of Diabetes, the present epidemics of diabetes, heart disease and some cancers is due to not including ghee in our diets.

Benefits of Ghee

  • Ghee is a source of beta carotene and vitamins A, D, E, and K. Beta carotene and vitamin E are vital antioxidants. Vitamin A is naturally present in ghee, which is lacking in other edible oils.
  • Ghee has no milk solids, lactose or sugars. These get separated out when the butter is made into ghee, so it’s good for lactose intolerant people too
  • Organic ghee has no additives, preservatives, oxidized cholesterol or trans-fatty acids that clog arteries.
  • Ghee is highly stable and does not go rancid even at room temperature.
  • Clarified butter has a very high smoke point than butter but lesser than oil—it does not burn at high cooking temperatures. So it’s always better to cook in ghee than butter as butter burns very easily
  • Ghee is primarily saturated fat. One tablespoon of ghee provides 14g of saturated fat, 28mg of cholesterol and roughly 120 calories.
  • Ghee is useful for both external and internal use. Because ghee helps to increase immunity, that subtle essence of tissue that is responsible for life, radiant health, vigour, longevity and overall well being.
  • Slows down ageing process by adding a minimum of ghee to your food everyday.
  • It also removes toxins from body & mind.
  • Ghee is beneficial in promoting growth and development in children. It also improves memory and concentration power.
  • Ghee has its healing properties. If used directly on cuts, wounds or burns, it has powerful healing action. It can be used to cure gangerine . ulcers etc.
  • Pure ghee has anti-oxidant properties which promotes healthy metabolism and aids weight loss(when used in a moderation)
  • Intake of Ghee reduces the cholesterol both in the serum & intestine by triggering an increased secretion of biliary lipids.
  • Ghee is good for nerves & brains. It helps control eye pressure and is beneficial to glaucoma patients.

By 1 Comment

10 New Year workouts for 2016

Are you planning to have some great health-related New Year resolutions? Every Year we set some resolution for ourselves for the New Year and end up with no result because of inconsistency in fulfilling the tasks.

This year let’s set some realistic goals and give a blow to our hidden talents. We always think that we’ll start the New Year with some regular exercising but due to boredom we are   unable to continue. So try new things so as to make your workouts interesting.

The easiest is to start with remembering some of those childhood games and activities that you liked and played the most. Try them out again for a change. If you cannot remember them here are some exercises which will help you to stick to your routine and you will also enjoy achieving your fitness levels.

  1. Roller-skating: Roller-skating as an exercise provides a lot of health benefits. Skating offers an effective cardiovascular workout, endurance training and strength training to build strong muscles in the pelvis and legs. Balance and coordination can also be improved by regular skating.
  1. Hula hooping: Hula hoop is when you rotate your hip round and round. I am sure everyone heir childhood would have attempted this at least once. As an exercise, I can say that hula hoop is a bona fide piece of workout equipment that can tone your thighs, abdominals, gluteals, and arms. You barely feel like you’re working out while doing Hula hoop.
  1. Dancing: Whether you like to jump or jive, tap or tango, shake your belly or your booty, dancing is one of the most enjoyable ways to get some exercise. If you dance 30 min in a day you will enjoy your day and feel very fit without realizing that you have worked out. Also, there is no age limit for the dance, anyone can dance. Regular dancing is great for fitness, maintaining strong bones, improving posture and muscle strength, increasing balance and coordination, and beating stress.

To get more information about Dancing you can check another blog written by my colleague Shimpli Patil. Let’s dance… for a better health and a better you!!

http://goqii.com/blog/lets-dance-for-a-better-health-and-a-better-you/

  1. Trampolining: Everyone likes to jump. So we can relate this exercise to the above mentioned dancing exercise. If you know how to jump, you know dancing. Jumping itself is a great exercise but if you are jumping on a hard floor, you might hurt your legs, knees, so the best option is to use Trampoline. Jump workouts on Trampoline are not only a quick way to tighten, tone and build core strength, you can also shred calories and boost cardio as effectively as going for a run — without the stress on your joints.
  2. Water exercise: As a kid most of us enjoyed playing in the water, be it in bath tub at home or in the pool. Believe me that the water exercises is a great way to stay fit without hurting your body. Water workout burns tons of calories but feels like an easy play. To know more you can read from the following link:

One-Stop Shop Workout – Swimming:

http://goqii.com/blog/one-stop-shop-workout-swimming/

  1. Cycling: I still remember that my school was approximately 8 kms away from my home and I use to travel by cycle to school every day. It was fun and the same time kept me healthy. Cycling is indeed one of the best ways to be fit. My favourite weekend activity has always been cycling and every time I would pick a new route and end up exploring the place. Cycling is the easiest way of exercise because you can ride a bicycle almost anywhere, at any time of the year, and without spending a fortune. Cycling builds strength, muscle tone, builds stamina, improves your cardiovascular fitness, improves heart health and reduces stress. This also improves the mental health.

Cycling is good for your coordination: Moving both feet around in circles while steering with both your hands and your body’s own weight is good practice for your coordination skills.

  1. Skipping: How many of us remember our childhood, when we used to skip and even had challenges among ourselves to find out who could skip the fastest. Those memories of my childhood bring back a smile on my face. I used to enjoy those skipping moments. There were several games we could play with the skipping rope and it was one of the cheapest games that one could purchase. The best part of a skipping rope was that people of all ages could use it.

You can read more on skipping in my blog – Did you know how useful a ‘SKIPPING’ rope can be?

http://goqii.com/blog/did-you-know-how-useful-a-skipping-rope-can-be/

  1. Running: As a child all of us have ran so much while playing but as we grow older all these activities somehow comes to a halt thereby forcing many to lead an unhealthy life. Nowadays running is becoming a very popular sport and a craze among many. This in turn has also led to the number of marathons being organized in a year. According to me one of your New Year resolutions could be to take up running seriously and become a runner.

Here is another blog written by my colleague Mitali on how to prepare for a marathon- Are you running the Marathon? Here is your guide to training:

http://goqii.com/blog/are-you-running-the-marathon-here-is-your-guide-to-training/

  1. Outdoor Games:It’s always best to play outdoor games. If you remember most of us from our generation would remember their times of playing in the parks but sadly nowadays kids are seldom found playing outside and are found more busy with their X-Box, video games, Ipad etc, which lead them to the unhealthy lifestyle. I would suggest you start going to park or nearest ground to play outdoor games like cricket or Foot Ball, which will then encourage your kids also to play outside. For more information about Cricket and Foot Ball, you can read my following Blog – CRICKET and FOOT BALL—Your healthy path to fitness!:

http://goqii.com/blog/cricket-and-foot-ball-your-healthy-path-to-fitness/

  1. Hiking: Hiking especially with friends: If you like to explore new places, try to go Hiking, it will help you not only to explore new places but, also increase your strength and stamina, because you have to walk on the mountain which really needs balancing. Also, while doing Hiking, you are increasing your physical and mental health, because it will give you stress relieve from your whole week work burden.

Once you have decided the resolution for your new year, try to check on it in every interval of 15 days and ask yourself one question – are you following your Resolution? If No – get back on track and then enjoy your healthy lifestyle.

By Leave a Comment

Shake off the salt habit!

ImageGen

My food won’t taste good at all if I don’t add salt to it. Salt has become a habit to such an extent that we not only use it while cooking but add extra from the top too. We need salt for enhancing our fruits’ tastes too. Surprising isn’t it??

Salt namely Sodium chloride contains 40% of sodium in it. We add this salt to most of our foods/recipes and thus it is considered to be the major source of sodium to our body. Also the sodium we are talking about is not completely bad the way it’s being projected. Sodium also performs some important functions in our body like regulating the nerves and muscles, controlling the blood pressure and thus the sodium concentrations need to be carefully controlled by the body. Most of us consume far more sodium than what our body would actually need. This excess sodium causes the body to retain too much water in the blood vessels which causes a rise in the blood pressure thereby increasing the risk of heart disease, kidney disease and even stroke.

Our daily limit of sodium consumption per day is given as 2300 mg which is actually completed by 1 teaspoon of our table salt itself. Surprised?

Now give a thought to how much salt and thereby sodium are we consuming!!

So are you thinking that you don’t really consume that much of salt specially because you don’t sprinkle salt from top or not even add much to your daily food?

Research in fact shows that 75% of salt or more precisely sodium comes from the processed and preserved foods that we consume on a daily basis which we might not even consider to be really overly salty.

One vegetable wrap with loads of cheese, tomato sauce and mayonnaise in it can give you sodium for next 7 days. Thus, this is the extra sodium you consume in addition to any extra salt to your food at home.

Solution for this is not of course cutting all sodium/salt out of your diet but let’s try to strike a chord somewhere in the middle.

Here is a salt check and a few tips to help us to cut down our salt intake and thereby our sodium intake too.

  1. Cut down your all obviously salty foods like salted nuts, fried moong dal, farsan, chips, powders, cheese, pickles, sauces, dry fruits, dry fish etc.
  2. Look out for the hidden sources of sodium and salt. Baked items, breads, whole bread too, biscuits, breakfast cereals even if they are sweet, stir in masalas, table sauces, soup powders, tinned fruits, vegetables, canned juices, frozen patties, parathas, nuggets, sausages contain loads of sodium and should be restricted as much possible. It is not always sodium chloride but it can be other salts of sodium like citrate, sorbitrate, glutamate, benzoate, carbonate, bicarbonate etc. MSG or monosodium glutamate present in soya sauce, schezwan and chilli sauce – the main sauces in our Chinese version foods is again extremely salty a very high source of sodium.
  3. Try to google for the preservatives- the E- series- you will be surprised to see that almost many salts of sodium are used for your favorite foods.
  4. Buy fresh foods like vegetables, fruits, cereals, pulses and not their remix version.Try to obtain the goodness of cereal from the wholegrain s instead of breads and pastries. Natural foods contain far less sodium than the preserved ones. Start eating the fresh homemade food. Use healthy cooking methods.
  5. Instead of salt, use herbs, spices to season your cooking. Lime juice, tamarind, kokam, vinegar, garlic, black pepper, and cinnamon help to add the flavor. Try making different marinade and spicy rubs to add flavor to your foods instead of plain salt.
  6. Taste your food before adding the entire quantity of salt you plan to add.
  7. Take the salt off your dining table. If you have to always go and get your salt you tend not to bother to get it. You can cut down your salt by adding less to your food slowly day by day. Research suggests that if salt is decreased very slowly it is not even realized.

So finally next time if you forget to add salt in your vegetable, stop yourself from adding extra salt and instead try eating the vegetable just without salt. Initially you may find it difficult. But soon you may realize that what tastes now is the original taste of the vegetable and the spices or herbs that you have added to it. It might prove to be a pleasant surprise to your taste buds too. This effort needs to be taken from our side as we all are aware that excess salt consumption can act as a silent killer in the body.

 

From Terminal Illness To Complete Wellness! Ananda Mukherjee Health Story

As we observe World Cancer Day under the powerful theme ‘United by Unique’ (2025-2027)**, we are reminded that every individual’s journey with cancer is distinct, yet united by shared resilience, hope, and the collective fight against this disease. This theme places people at the centre of care and their stories at the heart of the […]