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Search Results for: nutrition

February 19, 2022 By Shivani Dalvi Leave a Comment

Is Quinoa Really Worth The Nutritional Hype?

quinoa

With the rise in awareness about the right food for good health, people are changing what they eat. New foods or superfoods specifically, are added to the everyday routine foods to get an add on benefit. One such highly popular or highly trending food is “Quinoa” (pronounced as keen-wah)

What is Quinoa?

It is a pseudo-grain but because of its nutritional resemblance to grains, it is considered as a grain. If we look at its source, it is a seed available from the Chenopodium Quinoa Plant. It was widely produced only in South America and the Incas used to call it “the mother of all grains”.

In the year 2013, it was named “The International Year of Quinoa” by the UN because of its valuable qualities and potential to fight world hunger.

Is It Really Worth Including In Our Meals? 

The answer is yes and there are several reasons for it. 

  • Quinoa is non-GMO and a naturally gluten-free grain
  • It is one such plant-based food exception that it is a complete protein: a complete protein means where all the essential amino acids are present which the body cannot produce until we feed it through food. It specifically contains lysine, methionine and cysteine amino acids which generally all plant-based protein food lacks
  • High antioxidant and inflammation reducing capacity: It contains flavonoids like quercetin and kaempferol which help in acting as an antioxidant, anti-viral, anti-cancer and anti-depressant
  • Fibre-rich grain source: 17-27gm of fibre is found in 1 cup of Quinoa (185gm approximately) which is a lot more as compared to other grains, which helps in reducing the total fat/lipid percentage in the body
  • Helps in Improving Blood Sugar Control: One definitely because of its fibre-protein content and another because it contains compounds that inhibit alpha-glucosidase, one of the enzymes involved in digesting carbohydrates, resulting in the delayed breakdown of carbohydrates and hence slow release of sugar in the blood
  • Because of its high magnesium content (1 cup cooked quinoa can provide one-third of daily requirement), it is recommended to have it often to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes
  • Helps in reducing weight: As Quinoa is high in fibres, proteins and has a low glycemic index, it can make one feel fuller for a longer time, reducing frequent hunger pangs
  • The nutritional content of one cup of cooked quinoa is 222 calories and 4 grams of fat; with 39 grams of carbohydrates, 5 grams of fibre and 8 grams of protein

Quinoa also contains few anti-nutrients like saponins, phytic acid and oxalates. However, they do not affect health when cooked properly. It can be used as a replacement for any grain like rice, or can be added to cold salads, soups, sprouts, etc. Click here for some interesting recipes you can try using Quinoa. 

We hope this article on Quinoa helps you! Do share your thoughts in the comments below! To learn more about grains, food and healthy eating in general, check out Healthy Reads or ask a GOQii Coach by subscribing for personalized health coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

#BeTheForce 

January 25, 2022 By Karishma Khot 2 Comments

7 Nutrition Tips For A Healthy Winter

Nutrition Tips

Everyone likes the drop in temperature, hill station vacations, sitting around the bonfire while barbecuing delicious food, but do we really enjoy the cold and flu? Drying of our skin? Getting viral infections? And then the never ending consumption of cough syrups? The Winter season is one of cool breeze as well as the season of cold and flu, and to accompany it, we also have the ongoing Covid pandemic, which has the same symptoms to be tested positive. Hence, it is more important to take care of ourselves this year, and avoid getting any viral fevers, cold and flu. To help you with it, I have some healthy nutrition tips for you this Winter. 

7 Nutrition Tips For a Healthy Winter 

  1. Keep a check on your water intake: The most common negligence we do in winters is that we tend to forget to drink enough water. As the temperatures are down, we often do not drink water and consume it only while gulping down food. This leads to dehydration in the body, and further damages our skin, leaving a major impact on our bowel movements, due to which most of the time we are constipated. Make sure to drink at least 3-4 liters of water per day. 
  2. Build your immunity: Common cold & flu are 2 symptoms, which you will get quite often in the winter season. So the best thing will be following a healthy routine daily, so as to keep them at bay. Try drinking Saunth (dry ginger water), every alternate day just before you sleep or anytime once in a day. As dry ginger/Saunth has a bioactive compound called as Gingerol, which is anti-inflammatory and has other medicinal properties as well. 
  3. Avoid overeating: In winter as the temperatures are low, we always tend to overeat, consume hot and spicy meals, eat fried snacks, etc. All we know is the winter makes us hungry, but we need to realise that they also make us put on weight. Issues of bloating, gas and constipation take a toll on our health. To avoid this, we should not indulge in all the cravings. Instead, to beat the cold weather, we should consume hot soups, warm khichdi, seasonal green leafy veggies, and healthy homemade snacks like steamed muthiya’s, sprouts poha, idlis, and many more. 
  4. Restrict caffeine: Drinking tea/coffee every 2 hours to keep the body warm is not a good idea. We not only increase our sugar intake but also our caffeine intake. Caffeine leads to dehydration in the body, and as in winter we already have a tough time meeting our water intake, drinking caffeinated  beverages will harm us further. In that case, we can consume antioxidant rich and caffeine free Green tea’s. Drinking or sipping on Green tea, turmeric water, cinnamon water, and herbal teas will also be a great deal.
  5. Go seasonal: It is also advisable to eat things which are in season, as they are found in abundance. Bioavailability of the nutrients is high, and helps us with the essential vitamins and minerals as well. So winter season belongs to berries like strawberries, mulberries, blueberries and fruits like oranges, chiku, plums, guava. Green leafy vegetables and root vegetables as well. So snacking on a roasted sweet potato for your evening snack will be a great thing. 
  6. Consume superfoods to stay warm: There are a variety of ingredients or to be more precise, many dried foods and spices, which keep our body warm from the inside. Including these while cooking our food is definitely going to keep us warm from the inside. These ingredients include anjeer, figs, dates, sesame seeds, cinnamon, peppercorn, garlic, cloves, ginger, saunth and star anise.
  7. Say no to processed: In the fast moving world, we often tend to have packaged soups, as they are more easy to make than actually chopping veggies and making it fresh. However, these packaged foods are high in preservatives and additives, which are very unhealthy for us. Instead of using them, try blending fresh veggies and make a healthy meal for yourself. 

We hope these nutrition tips help you have a healthy winter! Do leave your thoughts in the comments below. For more on staying healthy during Winter, check out Healthy Reads or ask a GOQii Coach by subscribing for personalized health coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr 

#BeTheForce 

January 20, 2022 By Swati Savla Leave a Comment

Nutrition Guidelines For Seniors During Winter

nutrition guidelines for seniors

Maintaining immunity during winter is imperative, especially for seniors. It’s quite crucial to take care of their nutritional needs as they face the greatest risk of cold and flu viruses and issues like joint pain, hypothermia (which may also lead to stroke or heart attack), dry skin, aggravation of asthmatic attacks or respiratory problems. With this pandemic, seasonal challenges are all the more exacerbated. So, let’s look at some nutrition guidelines for seniors during winter! 

Nutrition Guidelines For Seniors 

Some daily dietary nourishment tips that can help seniors tackle common winter problems include:

  • Omega 3 fatty acids: Fatty fish like salmon, tuna, mackerel, walnuts, flaxseeds, chia seeds and avocado are some excellent sources of Omega-3 fatty acids.  Omega 3 fatty acids are beneficial in reducing inflammation especially in arthritis, curbing heart disease and they also play a role in cognitive development in elderly. 
  • Seasonal fruits and vegetables like all the leafy greens, berries, citrus fruits, root vegetables like beetroot, carrots and sweet potatoes. All of these are high in antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber which help easing the bowels. 
  • Winters mean less exposure to the sun which may be a reason for Vit.D deficiency and impaired calcium absorption which affects bone health further. Hence, Vit.D fortified cereals, egg yolk, milk and milk products need to be a part of the diet regularly.
  • The cold climate leads to less water intake due to the urge to urinate frequently which can act as a hindrance to our elders to maintain optimal fluid intake. Inclusion of warm soups, decaffeinated beverages, warm milk, vegetable juices, citrus fruits and gourd vegetables help them in maintaining the hydration status. A well hydrated body aids good digestion, helps in transport of nutrients and also improves the performance of joints and muscles.
  • Habituate elders to have 5-6 small but frequent meals. It is essential for improving metabolism, regulating insulin levels and improving calorie intake in older individuals who face a diminished appetite. 

Apart from good nutrition, maintaining some basic physical activity within the vicinity of the house is equally important to reduce joint pains and muscle stiffness by improving blood flow to all parts of the body and aiding better digestion and good metabolism.

We hope these nutrition guidelines for seniors during winter helps you take care of the elderly in your family and around you. Do leave your thoughts in the comments below. For more on healthy living for senior citizens, check out Healthy Reads or ask a GOQii Coach by subscribing for personalized health coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

#BeTheForce 

December 29, 2021 By GOQii 6 Comments

Common Myths About Exercise & Nutrition

Nutrition and Exercise myths and facts

In the quest to lead a healthier and fitter life, we do end up reading and talking a lot about it. While exchanging information is good, the kind of information you exchange also matters. Are we following the right advice? Is this correct? Can this be verified? Is this information about nutrition and exercise coming from a trusted source?

There is no harm in reading about nutrition and exercise and following through, provided that it comes from a reliable source. Doing your own research on a topic can save you from following myths and sabotaging your own journey.

As we are stepping in to a New Year, let’s explore some common myths around exercise and nutrition.

Myth #1: Some Fruits Shouldn’t Be Given to Diabetic & Weight Loss Cases

Fact: Mango, Grapes, Chikoo and Bananas are often considered as enemies for diabetics and weight loss cases, considering their natural sugar content. Yes, I agree they are naturally loaded with sugar content, although best in class when it comes to nutrients. One should always consider the nutrients in a food rather than the natural sugar content or calories. These food, when consumed at the right time and right quantity, provide fruitful benefits! For instance, Mango being high on Fiber, when consumed as an in-between meal gives you fullness and makes you not munch on the otherwise unhealthy stuff. Studies have proven that Mangoes have anti-inflammatory & anti-oxidant properties, which help obese people lose weight and in turn be helpful to the diabetics. Bananas‘ high levels of B6 helps Type 2 Diabetics due to its anti-glycatic properties.

Myth #2: Rice is Fattening

Fact: Rice is high on carbohydrates and not high on Fat. When taken in right quantities and timing, it will get utilized by the body and will not end up being excess… which otherwise will end up being stored, in the form of Fat. Again, rice is not responsible for the weight gain. It is how our body processes food and reacts to excess food, irrespective of whether that food is Rice, Quinoa, Oats, Whole Wheat or even Protein.

The best way to eat rice is to combine it with a combination of some protein source or fiber. For instance, eat Rice + Dal or Rice+ Fish Curry. Timing is equally important. You can have rice post a workout in your lunch, wherein we assure your body will burn it off during the rest of the day. We can enjoy it in dinner too, provided the dinner is around 7-7.30pm.

Myth #3: Spot Reduction

Fact: There is nothing like spot reduction! As and when we lose or gain weight, it happens overall and not in one place. When we lose, it is as per the fat cells in the specific area which may have a tendency to lose more or gain more, depending upon your genes. When we train our muscles to be stronger, body burns more to repair and maintain them. While doing so, it does not take fat from the local area, it will take fat from all over to burn. Our body will never burn fat only from the part which we train. For instance, when teenage boys train their biceps, triceps & shoulders every day, the size improves and they look good, then how will doing abs everyday make one lose belly fat? Hope you get the point.

Myth #4: Ghee (Homemade Butter) Makes One Fat

Fact: Homemade Cow’s Milk Butter (Ghee) contains CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid) which helps you mobilize the stubborn fat in your body to help you energize. It has added benefits like anti-ageing, sexual vitality, healthy skin and eyes, etc. Want to lose that stubborn belly fat? Add a spoon of homemade ghee to the plate.

Myth #5: Multigrain Biscuits and Fat-Free Snacks Are Healthy

Fact: We often get fooled with the marketing gimmicks that Multigrain is healthy, fat-free is the best snack, etc. If we get into more details, we can clearly see the facts. Just turn the packet of these foods around and read the label. The ingredient list goes in a descending order of the content of the food and the first ingredient is wheat, which we end up thinking to be whole wheat, where as it is the processed form of wheat which is Maida. Majority of the contents are not healthy, it is just that they are given fancy names to fool us like Demerara Sugar, which is actually just normal sugar. The marketing names used are often the least in the percentage in the food, like Ragi, Multigrain, Oats, etc.

Myth #6: More Cups of Green Tea = More Fat Burned

Fact: Green tea, when taken in right quantity and timing, helps a lot for fat burning. This is due to its caffeine content. When people have it in larger amounts like 6-8 cups or more in a day, it ends up making them dehydrated and acidic. Rather than increasing the metabolism, it slows it down.  Thus, there is no extra ‘burning’ that will happen if one has it more. As we always say, anything in excess is not good, if even it is healthy.

Myth #7: Skipping Meals Helps One Lose Fat

Fact: Skipping meals will make you lose weight for sure.  Although there is a difference between weight loss and fat loss. What do we do when our mom is not at home to give us food and we are very hungry and you cannot call out for food from outside?  We look out for easy options at home to kill the hunger at that point, right?

Our body does the same when we skip meals. It will look out for options within the body. The easiest one is the muscle gylcogen storage, it will opt for that first and when one loses muscle content, there is a loss in body weight too, as muscle weighs a lot naturally. Although, metabolism goes down and fat content remains the same or increases. Skipping meals helps you lose precious muscle content while the fat still sticks around, in fact, increases too at times. 

Myth #8: Only Running Helps in Weight Loss & Maintenance

Fact: Running is a great sport/exercise. It has its own high due to the endorphin rush it gives you, especially when running outside. No doubt it gives you great results with regards to weight loss, although it is majorly muscle loss that happens if the pre and post run meal is not taken care of. If one keeps running for a long time without strengthening workouts, they are bound to lose more and more muscles. Thus, the weight loss will surely be seen but not in a healthy way. Later, when one happens to stop running, they will gain weight quickly as the metabolism is low. Running will help one to lose fat only when combined with strengthening workouts over the week.

Myth #9: Eating Extra Protein Helps Build Muscles

Fact: Given the fact that muscles need protein to survive, everyone assumes if you have extra protein, the body will keep it only for the muscles. This is not the case. At any given point, our body will take as much as required and the rest goes to excess. Let that be Carbohydrates, Proteins or Fats. Whatever is excess and that which the body doesn’t require will go to storage, which is fat.

Myth #10: Lifting Weights Isn’t a Good Way to Lose Weight Because It’ll Make Me Bulk Up

Fact: Weight training will break your muscle and repair it back to be a little stronger and denser than the last time. Yes! This process will add up on your body weight but not fat.  You will start adding bulk depending upon the type of training you take and the type of nutrition support you have. The bulk up can happen only if you aim at it and train accordingly. If we are not looking at bulking up, one can train as per that. For instance, lesser weights and basic reps of 15-20.

Myth #11: Physical Activity Only Counts If I Do It for Longer Periods of Time

Fact: Workouts done the right way, at the right time, give us the right benefits! Some have a notion that if one trains for longer hours, the results will be better and faster. When one trains for longer hours, our body starts secreting Cortisol, which is a stress hormone. Due to excess cortisol, the body will store more fat and start losing muscle. This will in turn make metabolism slower. Thus, the quality of workout matters rather than the timings.

Myth #12: People Who Are Thin Don’t Need Exercise

Fact: One exercises because they want to be healthy and fit, not to lose weight. Majority think only those who want to lose weight need to workout. Everyone needs to workout. However, the type of exercise and its intensity will vary depending upon the person’s health and fitness goals. Thin people need to aim at gaining muscles. Often, thin people have the same percentage of fat as the person who actually looks fat. This is because the person who looks thin usually has least amount of muscles and thus, the body weight is lesser (as muscles are very dense). Moral: Even thin people need to workout!

Myth #13: If You Binge and Detox Later, It Nullifies The Binging.

Fact: This is like punishing your body! First you eat a lot and then you make it starve by detox methods or working out for hours. Rather than doing this, while eating out, one can practice mindful eating. Mindful eating involves chewing well and thus enjoying the food. It will end up in portion control too as your mind knows where to stop. If you binge, you eat fast. You eat the food with guilt and later punish it. Which is completely wrong! By practicing mindful eating we can eat out and not punish the body. We do need a detox at times to cleanse toxins but not as a punishment for binging.

We hope this article helps you identify myths and clear all your doubts on nutrition and exercise with facts! For more articles about getting healthier, check out Healthy Reads. To bust more common myths and get the right information from a certified expert, ask a GOQii Coach by subscribing for personalized coaching here: https://goqiiapp.page.link/bsr

Have you heard any more myths like these? Share them with us in the comments below!

#BeTheForce

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