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February 18, 2022 By Rashmi Deshpande 8 Comments

5 Hormones That Have a Big Impact on Your Health

hormones that affect healthEver experienced a sudden mood swing? Or, have you been experiencing a lot of fatigue or sleepless nights? Your body experiences many changes from birth to adolescence to adulthood. Most of these changes, both physical and mental are regulated by the hormones present in our body.

Hormones are the chemical messengers of our body. They travel through our bloodstream and hold the key to optimum health. In essence, they affect metabolism, sexual function, reproduction, growth and development and even have an effect on our mood.

A better understanding of the hormones that influence our wellbeing and how to activate them will help us live better and healthier lives.

Let’s have a look!

1. Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH)

We are quite familiar with this hormone nowadays! It is a pituitary hormone that stimulates the thyroid gland to produce thyroxine T4 and triiodothyronine T3 which stimulates the metabolism of almost every tissue in our body.

Abnormality in this hormone is seen by sudden weight gain, weight loss, dry skin, mood swings, severe sensitivity to cold or heat, depression with weak metabolism and even enlarged gland in the form of goiter.

The abnormalities in this hormone can be treated effectively with lifestyle modification, medicine, yoga, exercises and regular checkup of hormone. It has mainly two types: Hypo & Hyper. Normal range is:

  • TSH: 0.5 – 4.15 mU/L
  • T4: 6-12ug/dL
  • T3: 240 -280 ug/dL

2. Insulin

“Hey! I am on insulin!”

At some point, we have heard this from a diabetic person. Insulin is released by the pancreas, which is a leaf like gland situated in the abdominal cavity behind the stomach. It regulates the body’s glucose or sugar levels, which are derived from carbohydrates.

It also allows the body to store and utilize glucose for energy and when it is released into the bloodstream, it causes either hyper or hypo glycemia.

Abnormality in insulin levels can cause weight gain or weight loss, frequent urination, feeling hungry all the time, fatigue, wounds taking longer to heal, etc. These sudden changes in body are just because of insulin function, either it is not produced in enough quantity or unable to act currently.

Easy and most effective treatment is lifestyle modification, healthy eating habits, keeping the body active, managing stress and medication. Referred Range:

  • Random blood glucose: 70-100mg/dl
  • Fasting: 70 -110mg/dl
  • After meals: <140mg/dl

3. Cortisol (Stress Hormone)

There’s a fair chance that every second person you meet might be stressed! The stress hormone called Cortisol is produced by the adrenal gland. It helps us stay healthy and energetic. Its main role is to control physical and psychological stress.

Excess secretion of cortisol causes a number of side effects such as increased heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, sweating, and shivering. At stressful times, the body secretes cortisol to cope up with the situation. High level of cortisol consistently, causes ulcers, high blood pressure, anxiety, high levels of cholesterol, etc.

Similarly, low levels of cortisol in the body causes weakness, fatigue and low blood pressure. This can be controlled by sharing feelings, meditation, doing what you like (some hobby), listening to music, spending time with  family, going out for vacations, prayers and at last psychiatric treatment with medication.

4. Sex Hormones

This hormone is categorized into male and female hormones respectively:

  • Testosterone: It is a male sex hormone. An anabolic steroid by nature, it helps in building body muscles. In males, it plays an important role in the development of male reproductive tissues; testes and prostate. It also promotes secondary sexual characteristics like increasing the mass of muscles and bones, growth of body hair etc.  If testosterone secretion is insufficient in men, then it may lead to abnormalities, including frailty and bone loss. This can be treated with medication.
  • Progesterone: This hormone is produced in the ovaries, the placenta and the adrenal glands when a woman gets pregnant. It stimulates and regulates various functions. Progesterone plays an important role in maintaining pregnancy as it helps the body prepare for conception, pregnancy and regulates the monthly cycle. When pregnancy doesn’t occur, progesterone levels drop, and menstrual cycle occurs. It also plays a role in sexual desire. Any abnormalities can be treated with home remedies and medication.

5. Serotonin

We all need this happy hormone during stressful days! It is associated with learning and memory, regulating sleep, digestion, regulates mood, some muscular functions, etc. Imbalance in this hormone may affect the brain’s function to control stress levels and mood well.

Low level of serotonin causes depression, migraine, weight gain, insomnia, craving of carbohydrates, etc. Excess levels of serotonin in the body causes agitation, stage of confusion, sedation, etc.

After knowing about the 5 hormones which are essential for good health, it is obvious that the key to keeping them in balance is healthy eating, an active lifestyle and good rest with meditation. Make sure that you check with your doctor for imbalances and irregularities of your hormones and take the necessary actions suggested by your doctor. You can also consult a GOQii Doctor via the GOQii App for consultation.

Do share your thoughts and queries in the comments below!

Be balanced! Be happy! #BeTheForce!  

December 25, 2021 By Luke Coutinho 3 Comments

Holiday Health Tip: It’s All In The Chew!

Holiday Health Tip: It's All In The ChewIt’s precisely between this week and January 1st when people tend to put on most of their weight. There are two reasons for this – The crazy festive season filled with weddings and parties and then Christmas, New Year Eve and the fact that people tend to let loose during this time, with the justification that they will start anew with  ‘healthy new year resolutions’ from January onwards.

What if I told you that you could enjoy this season and it would not impact your weight?

What if I told you that snacking on a cookie or dessert here or there would not impact your weight goals?

What if I told you that you could eat rice, roti, bread at lunch and dinner, and it would not impact your weight or health?

What if you could enjoy this festive season, have loads of fun, eat your favorite foods and still maintain your health and weight?

The human body is a miracle and we are living examples of this miracle. The way our brain and body functions, blood flow, smell, feelings, emotions, the ability to recover from the deadliest of diseases and the ability of our cells to heal and repair. Every day, trillions of cells in our body work non-stop to fight out germs and bacteria all around us, which if infects us, we could fall very sick and even die. That miracle is called ‘ immunity’.

Our stomach produces sufficient acid to melt down a razor blade. Such is the power of our digestive system. So what’s an ice- cream or a chocolate bar or a cookie going to do when it finds its way into our stomachs? Our body is made to digest the hardest of foods. Red meat is tough to digest but the body will break it down. Vegetarians don’t escape either. Cellulose in vegetables are extremely difficult to break down, but the body breaks it down eventually (this is one reason that vegetarians suffer from more flatulence than non vegetarians).

The body can break down meats and vegetables and desserts as well! The secret lies in the ‘chew’.  The reason food tastes so good is because you’re supposed to enjoy it—slow down and savor it, not just get it to your stomach as quickly as possible.

How Does Chewing Thoroughly Help? 

Chewing your food thoroughly is actually the first step in the complex process of digestion, and if you glaze over it, just chewing the minimum amount of times necessary to get the food down your esophagus, you’re actually compromising this process. And that’s the mistake many people make.

We have teeth not just to smile for a pretty picture but the primary function of teeth is to tear down and break up food into small bits. Saliva mixes with these small bits, further softening them, and guess what?

Let me get down to some basics!

Why Should You Chew Your Food Thoroughly? 

When you chew, more saliva gets produced and your saliva contains enzymes that break down FATS and CARBS. Yes!!! Digestion starts in the MOUTH! By the time your food reaches your stomach, it’s already processed by enzymes and your stomach has no issues in completing the assimilation/digestion process.

  • You feel light
  • You feel full for a longer period of time.
  • You do away with flatulence, gas, indigestion and burping.
  • You learn to savor and enjoy the taste of your food.
  • Your body absorbs all the goodness of your food (vitamins, minerals) better.
  • You eat exactly how much your body needs, to maintain or arrive at a healthy weight

Imagine all the times you gobble down your food. You have undigested chunks sitting in your stomach, giving rise to gas, discomfort and chances are that most of your food gets converted to fat.

Chew your food. Enjoy a dessert but eat it slow, savor it and over time, you will learn not to abuse it. The more you chew your food, the cleaner you keep your intestines, stomach and colon because the body can quickly cleanse itself when digestion happens the right way. Say bye to constipation, fatigue and migraines/headaches.

Try This Exercise Today!

The next meal, eat it really slow. Take a spoon of food, chew it several times, savor the flavor and taste, and then swallow. Put your spoon down. Then take the next.

You will find yourself getting fuller quickly and then, you should stop eating. This way you save on calories you intake and over time, this will become a habit and you will serve yourself less food. Less food equals less calories, better health, longer life and a healthy weight.

Take 1 serving spoon less at every meal, chew and eat your food. You will find that it is enough and all these save spoons of food which add up to a lot of calories saved. You will lose fat and you will feel healthier.

Diseases are caused in most cases by overeating and we always think how much we eat is enough, but it may not be correct if you have been eating your meals fast. Chew your food and you will never have to diet. Your meal time is more important that your work, respect it. That’s your personal time between you and your body, where you feed and nourish it to keep you healthy and strong to do your work and live well.

This is a lifestyle change and if you master it! With it, you can enjoy all the foods you like in moderation.

We hope this article helps you make that lifestyle change. For more tips like this, check out Healthy Reads or ask a GOQii Coach by subscribing for personalized coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

#BeTheForce

September 18, 2021 By GOQii 1 Comment

Recover and Reclaim Your Health – Yashas Ranganath User Journey

Yashas Ranganath

More often than not, we find ourselves moving passively through the world revelling in all it has to offer and more. Wading way beyond moderation in the beauty of excesses till the consequences of our actions pile up. Lifestyle diseases are caused because of indulgence in unhealthy habits, something that one of our players Yashas Ranganath found out first hand. How did he manage? How did he recover? Let’s find out!

Life Before GOQii

Yashas Ranganath, an IT professional from Bangalore led quite a normal life. He used to eat, drink and do whatever he pleased, paying no attention to health and fitness. His physical activity was almost nil and he paid no attention to his lifestyle to even make a change.

In 2016, he was diagnosed with hypertension and diabetes. He was also admitted to the hospital for a severe migraine attack and put under medication for both. His health only got worse with time. In September 2018, he was hit by a stroke due to a cyst in his left brain. This left the right side of his body completely paralyzed.

Enter GOQii

Initially, Yashas Ranganath had joined GOQii in 2015 when he was exploring the market for a good fitness tracker. He chose GOQii as he was intrigued by the personal coaching feature. However, he says he completely wasted that subscription and did not take it seriously at all.

In December 2018, after 50% recovery from the paralysis, he began thinking about making lifestyle changes. He turned to GOQii and renewed his subscription. He says that his life took a complete positive turn after that!

Making a Positive Lifestyle Change

Yashas’ goal was to get all his vitals under control and completely recover from paralysis. His GOQii Coach advised him to completely stop the consumption of oil, sweets, salt, junk food and all types of processed food. He was also asked to stop eating maida and consumed bottled beverages. From a foodie, he had turned into a monk – eating to live and not living to eat. But his sole focus was recovery and he was ready to give up on everything.

His daily routine became structured in terms of eating habits, activity and sleep:

  • He wakes up at 4 in the morning to leave for work at 6:30 AM. He eats his breakfast and lunch at work – both are customized to his requirement.
  • His breakfast consists of upma, poha or idli. For Lunch, he eats 2 cups of rice with salads and vegetable curry.
  • Dinner consists of chapatti with a curry.
  • His coffee intake is limited to 1 in the evening and he eat fruits as mid meal snacks.
  • Under the rare occasion when he eats out, he manages to customize his food.
  • He exercises for 2 hours a day, doing what his physiotherapist suggests along with numerous stretches recommended by his GOQii Coach. He concludes this with 15 minutes of meditation.
  • He has also started cycling and performs Yog Nidra at night.

After following this routine, Yashas says that he feels no cravings at all and doesn’t even get tempted after seeing other enjoy different delicacies. He enjoys his current lifestyle modifications.

What Changes Did Yashas Ranganath Experience?

When he joined GOQii in 2018, his weight was 75kg, HBA1C was above 8 and blood pressure was 200/170. He now weighs 63kg. His vitals improved drastically too with his HBA1C at 5.4, blood sugar – fasting at 80-90 mg/dl and postprandial at 80-100 mg/dl. Blood Pressure is 130/80. He is on minimal medication, feels more active physically and positive mentally. He has also made a 90% recovery from his stroke.

“You have to get hit before your eyes are opened and then you change in ways you never thought you could,” says Yashas.

His wife and parents are overwhelmed with his recovery. He attributes the change in his lifestyle to his GOQii Coach and says her contribution has been 100%, constantly guiding him on what to eat and what not to eat. Yashas has also explored the features on the app like Play and watches videos as and when he finds time.

Recently, Yashas Ranganath spoke to our Founder & CEO Vishal Gondal about his recovery and journey with GOQii. You can watch the entire episode of GOQii Health Talks here:

What Did His GOQii Coach Have to Say About Him?

“Yashas is one of the most disciplined player I have ever seen. He has been very regular in following
all the habits formulated for him. After the treatment of his stroke and during recovery, he used to suffer from episodes of hypoglycaemia in between. He used to feel dizzy and uncomfortable. Slowly, we started making him have small and frequent meals with portion control. We started millet based meals for better glycaemic index and on the side, he was doing his physiotherapy as well. All of which contributed to his lifestyle change.”

Yashas Ranganath made a positive lifestyle change, what about you? Subscribe to personalized coaching now to get healthier with GOQii: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

Do check out more inspiring stories on Healthy Reads and #BeTheForce 

September 14, 2021 By Mamta Joshi 8 Comments

A Complete Guide To The Benefits Of Oil Pulling

oil pullingImmunity has become a common discussion during these pandemic-stricken times. No doubt that good immunity is the key to a healthy and disease-free body. The Ministry of Ayush has listed some immunity boosting measures for self care during the pandemic and oil pulling is one such Ayurvedic procedure. 

What Is Oil Pulling? 

It is an ancient Ayurvedic practice known as Kalava but not many are familiar with it. It is known to improve immunity and prevent more than thirty systemic diseases when practiced regularly. The oral cavity harbors billions of microorganisms, some of these contribute to the development of systemic diseases. In oil pulling, edible oil is swished around the mouth, continuously for 20 minutes like a mouthwash. Ayurveda believes that the tongue is connected to every organ of the body. Microbes and toxins build up in the mouth and swishing oil in the mouth for a prolonged amount of time draws out impurities from the mouth. Oil acts as a cleanser before these microbes get a chance to re-circulate and spread. 

How To Do It? 

It is quite simple, no side effects and involves a few steps with just 1 ingredient. 

  1. Take 1 tbsp of coconut oil.
  2. Swish it around in the mouth, between teeth, all over the gums, tongue, towards the cheek for 20 minutes.
  3. Spit out the oil and rinse your mouth well with water.

Caution: Oil may thicken and clog your drain so spit it in the dustbin. Children shouldn’t do it as there are chances they’ll swallow the oil.

Initially you may find it difficult to swish oil for long, so just start with 5 minutes and gradually build it up to 15–20 minutes. Coconut oil contains lauric acid which is proven to be anti-inflammatory and can kill harmful pathogens like bacteria, virus and fungi. Early morning is the best time to practice, even before drinking water. During sleep, the body detoxifies and the tongue gets coated with a white film which is full of toxins and microbes.

Benefits Of Oil Pulling On Oral Health 

Oil pulling is beneficial for oral hygiene as it reduces a number of harmful bacteria in the mouth. It is helpful for conditions like: 

  • Bad breath
  • Bleeding gums
  • Plaque
  • Cavities
  • Oral candidiasis
  • Gingivitis
  • Reduces tooth pain
  • Reduces problems like dry mouth, sore throat and chapped lips
  • Gives whiter teeth, pink lips and gums.

Benefits To The Skin

When you oil pull, you constantly exercise your facial muscles which encourages blood flow to your face. Oil Pulling can: 

  • Reduce wrinkles, fine lines, dry face and other signs of aging
  • Improve skin elasticity
  • Reduce double chin
  • Define your jawline 

Apart from the above, it can call help with: 

  • Improving gut health, metabolism, digestion and immunity
  • Detoxifying the mouth and body
  • Improving energy levels and sleep 
  • Balancing hormones
  • Reducing acne, eczema, psoriasis and other skin problems
  • Alleviating headaches and migraine
  • Providing relief from stiff joints and allergies

We hope you try this ancient Ayurvedic method of detoxifying your mouth and body. Do share your experience with us. For more articles on health and wellness, check out Healthy Reads.

To get these tips directly from your GOQii Coach, subscribe to personalized coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

#BeTheForce 

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