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Know Your Fats – Oils Benefits

All that we are aware of fats and oils is their weight gain ability. But, did you know that these fats and oils have many benefits too? Recommended dietary allowance (RDA) also says 20-30% of the whole diet should come from fat. Many oils have great taste due to their fortification. For instance Olive oil pairs very well with salads.

Let’s read more benefits:

  • Brain development: Fat provides the structural components not only of cell membranes in the brain but also of myelin, the fatty insulating sheath that surrounds each nerve fiber, enabling it to carry messages faster. Many pregnant women are asked to consume oil on a slightly higher side for the brain development of the child.
  • Vitamins absorptions: Fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K are absorbed by the intestines to provide vitamins to the body.
  • Healthier skin: Right amount of fat intake decreases the chances of skin deficiencies like dry, flaky skin etc. It gives the skin a shining and rounded appeal. The layer of fat below the first layer of the skin provides insulation to help regulate body temperature.
  • Healthy cells: Fats acts as a vital part of all the membrane. Fat surrounds each cell of the body. Without a healthy fat, cell membrane will not be able to function the right way.
  • Taste: Besides being a nutritious energy source, fat adds to the appealing taste, texture, and appearance of food.
  • Cushion for organs: Many of the vital organs, especially the kidneys, heart, and intestines are cushioned by fat that helps protect them from injury and hold them in place.
  • Hormone manufacture: Fat helps in the secretion of hormones like prostaglandins, hormone-like substances that regulate many of the body’s functions. Fats also regulates the production of sex hormones. But, fat more than RDA if present will also hinder secretion of sex hormones. One should be in their ideal body weight and consume just the right amount of oil and match their ideal body weight (IBW).  Teenage girls who look lean before their puberty will put on weight from the assistance of fat cell to sex hormones.

At GOQii we advise on healthy eating and leading a healthy lifestyle.

We hope this article has given you a deeper understanding of the benefits of fats and oils in your diet. If you found this information valuable, please share your thoughts in the comments section below. For more informative articles such as this, check out Healthy Reads or you can get this information directly from a GOQii Coach by subscribing for Personalised Health Coaching here.

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Cue to happiness

Happiness is a very subjective matter and differs from person to person and ultimately all our efforts and desires lead us to one underlying fact of attaining happiness in life.  Don’t we all live to be happy?

Many thought processes exist within us. These ‘thoughts’ create our belief systems, these beliefs urge us to have ‘emotions’, these emotions seep into our ‘energy body’ or the ‘aura’ and then finally settle down in our ‘physical body’ or ‘physical world’.

To elaborate, the brain sends out electromagnetic waves to the body for any action or reaction and basic functions of the body, including breathing, heartbeat, hormone secretion etc. are controlled by the mind whether we are awake, asleep or in a state of trance.

So, if the Mind can do all this, it would be natural for us to assume that the mind is also capable of restricting the blood flow, heart rate and movement. It can even restrict the functioning of the digestive and liver thereby decreasing metabolism and adding weight, causing BP, Cholesterol etc. At the end of the day, we may call this Disease and one of the most important factors of its cause is dependent largely on our thought process or rather how we think.

Disease originates from our mind-activity and it has been researched subjectively that worry affects your spleen, fear affects the kidney, and grief targets your heart and so on. The impact of our thinking mind has a resultant effect on our physical body, good and bad.

Therefore, when it comes to healing yourself, you have to also sort it out at the thought level and soon you will realize that it will have a positive and long-lasting effect on your physical body. The same goes with your physical world and surrounding. It is the inner workings that have the most result.

All this energy and thought process also reflects our real-life circumstances. You may have experienced that if you feel upset one morning, there is a chance that your entire day would be bad. Repeated negative thinking, once ingrained into the mind can create repeated negative experiences outside control. The good news is that it is not permanent and can be changed!

Here’s why and how,

Happiness in itself is a HABIT- a conditioning or association the Mind has received from a very early age through REPETITIVE thinking. All habits are created through repetition. So, learning to be thankful and having gratitude for simple things, even the very oxygen we breathe, is essential, so as to understand how not react to troubled situations but instead respond with ease, peace and compassion.

With our awareness and understanding and wisdom to respond positively to a situation, we find that the issues in life that used to upset us miraculously feel minuscule and sometimes even disintegrate. Our energy body changes in frequency and vibration thereby attracting more positive opportunities and experiences to us.

How we cultivate this habit of happiness, can vary widely, we can choose to;

1) Meditate regularly teaching the body and mind to regularly let go of stress and create an environment of peace and calm

2) Use a hobby as a trigger for happiness

3) Use a technique called ‘Affirmations’; where we use a statement that is completely opposite to our current limiting belief, and repeat the sentence as many times with feeling. It is to pass a command from the conscious mind to the subconscious mind. The subconscious mind has the ability, to accept anything as true, to do whatever it takes to turn it into reality, creating a new neuro-pathways in the brain. For eg; Limiting belief – It’s hard to lose weight. New belief you want to cultivate – Losing weight is easy for me

4) Express gratitude or keep a journal of thankfulness

5) Not to identify with suffering, loss, or illness as being who you are. Being kind to yourself and others is a skill and developed with practice and mindfulness, which leads to happiness.

Lastly and most importantly, is to keep consistent because we are all human. Emotions and experiences are a part of growth and learning and wisdom of a wonderful life, meanwhile, we can always train our minds to ‘let go’ of things that affect us adversely.

Learn Happiness!

We hope this article helps you become your health detective. If you found this information valuable, share your thoughts in the comments below. You can find more articles to help you manage stress here. For further guidance on managing stress and lifestyle, speak to a certified expert by subscribing to GOQii’s 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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What Are The Best Sources of Calcium

best sources of calciumCalcium, needed for healthy and strong bones and teeth, also helps in alleviating normal blood clotting, supports proper functioning of muscles and nerves. Most calcium is found in the bones of our body. If sufficient calcium is not included in the diet, then the body starts extracting calcium from bones making them weak and brittle and putting one at risk of Osteoporosis. Calcium requirements differ for each age group and gender. The most being required by the 50+ age group people as the body removes old bones faster than it rebuilds new ones. Let’s look into some of the best sources of calcium rich foods, including which will help us meet the daily recommended requirements for the mineral.

Best Sources of Calcium

  1. Milk and Milk Products: like curds, yogurt, buttermilk, paneer (Indian cottage cheese), ghee, are all very good sources of calcium. Including milk and milk products regularly in the diet helps us meet 12-30% of daily calcium requirement with 1 glass of milk helping us meet 12% of daily requirements of calcium. But choosing the right type of milk and milk products helps us reach the goal of maintaining or reducing or increasing weight at the same time.
  2. Leafy Greens: like spinach, kale, rhubarb and amaranth greens all have a good amount of calcium in them and can easily be incorporated in a diet. People following a vegan diet find it very easy to incorporate leafy vegetables and can complete their daily recommended dosage for calcium. People with kidney disease should follow restrictions which include these leafy greens as they also have large amounts of oxalates which are a reason for kidney stones – including good amounts of liquids helps minimize the oxalates effects on the body.
  3. Nuts: like almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts and dried figs have good amounts of calcium with almonds topping the list with 75 mg of calcium per 30 gms of almonds included. Nuts can be easily incorporated in snacks which are a healthy swap for all the unhealthy cravings in between meals. Incorporating a large quantity of nuts can also cause weight gain as they are very good sources of fats. Ensure that you control the portion size of nuts included. 
  4. Seeds: like sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, chia seeds and poppy seeds are rich in calcium and can be easily included in any of the Indian meal preparations which will add to the nutrient content of the dish and makes it more appealing as well. What is more interesting is that a very small quantity of the seeds, around 1-2 tsp in a day, will give you 80-150 gms of calcium.
  5. Vegetables: are rated quite low in terms of calcium but vegetables such as broccoli, sweet potato, lady finger and beans are good sources of calcium, between 70g-160g and are easily available all through the year and can be included in diet as salads, sabji (dry vegetable preparation) or mid meal snacks as well. 
  6. Sea foods: Sea animals like tuna, sardines, salmon provide us many of the micronutrients like potassium, selenium and magnesium along with calcium. These fishes have high levels of calcium as they have edible bones. They are also a good source of protein and Omega-3 fatty acids. But they also have high amounts of mercury so precaution must be taken to clean the fish well before using it for cooking
  7. Fruits: Though fruits are not very good sources of calcium, fruits like grapefruit, kiwi and orange help us get around 30-50mg of calcium per serving. Including fruits in between meals help in better absorption of nutrients from them.

We hope these best sources of calcium help you! Do leave your thoughts in the comments below! For more tips on nutrition, check out Healthy Reads or speak to a GOQii Coach by subscribing for Personalised Health Coaching here.

#BeTheForce 

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 […]