healthy living Archives - Page 171 of 173

June 17, 2018 By Vaishali Khanna 2 Comments

Sleep Apnea, its symptoms and how you can prevent it?

Has anyone ever told you that you have a tendency to snore? Or maybe you don’t…but you have a partner or family member who does? Do you find that you tend to wake up throughout the night? Or maybe you think you get good sleep, but you consistently find yourself with a dry mouth in the morning?

These are all signs that could suggest that you (or…your beloved snoring family member) may have something called “Sleep Apnea.” Well, there are people who cannot sleep without a machine and that is because they suffer from a medical condition called ‘Sleep Apnea’.

Let’s actually break this down. What is Sleep Apnea?

The most common type of Sleep Apnea is ‘Obstructive Sleep Apnea’ (OSA). OSA is a potentially life-altering and life-threatening breathing disorder that occurs during sleep.

The upper airway repeatedly collapses, causing cessation of breathing (apnea) or inadequate breathing (hypopnea) and sleep fragmentation. The breathing stops during sleep for 10seconds to a minute or longer. Oxygen levels in the blood decrease.

One challenge with something like this is that you may not necessarily wake up entirely. So it’s not always easy to self-diagnose. BUT – Sleep fragmentation results in chronic daytime sleepiness (which you would expect if you’re constantly getting interrupted throughout the night).This disrupts healthy sleep and causes a number of short-term and long-lasting effects that threaten the health and well-being of those who suffer from the condition.

How many people have OSA? The prevalence of OSA in the general population is still unclear. Several epidemiological studies have attempted to examine this issue. Epidemiological data from Young, Palta, Dempsey, et. Al (1993) in a study paper titled:- Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome: natural history, diagnosis, and emerging treatment options, estimated that in a group of 602 middle-aged individuals 2% of women and 4% of men meet the minimal diagnostic criteria for sleep apnea with excessive daytime sleepiness.

People most likely to have or develop OSA may have any of the following: Obesity, especially in the upper body

Small upper airway due to excess throat tissue or abdominal jaw structure

Nasal Obstruction

High Blood Pressure

Family History of OSA

Overweight Obese individuals

Obesity, particularly abdominal and upper body obesity is the most significant risk factor for obstructive sleep apnea. Excess body fat on the neck and chest constricts the air passageways and sometimes the lungs – thus setting the stage for interrupted breathing during the night. And according to the research…The more obese a person, the greater the risk of apnea.

The good news is that there are some general things that can make a big difference.

This includes:

Losing some weight, if you are overweight or obese (even as little as 5% of your body weight can make a change)

Avoid alcohol, sedatives, and hypnotics (as they can sedate the very muscles we need to breathe)

Sleeping on your side or in a semi propped position

If you have sleep apnea, do not take sleep medicines or sedatives. These chemicals will increase the relaxation in the tissues of the upper airway and make the obstruction worse. The specific treatment for obstructive sleep apnea is usually a mask worn at night to keep the airway open or using a sleep machine that can help you breathe and sleep properly.

If OSA is left untreated, it can increase the risk of developing:

Hypertension

Cardiac arrhythmias

Myocardial ischemia

Stroke Pre-diabetes

Decreased quality of life (because who wants to feel sleep deprived?)

Weight loss is frequently recommended to improve OSA among obese patients. Not only does sustained weight loss improve OSA,it also improves many other independently linked co- morbidities such as hypertension, high cholesterol, and diabetes. The greater the change in body weight or waist circumference, the greater is the improvement in OSA

June 11, 2018 By Hardika Vira 5 Comments

10 tips to retain nutrients while cooking

We try different methods of cooking- boiling, sauteing, frying, grilling etc. Everyone has their own unique way of preparing a particular dish. Isn’t it? We never realize why one is following particular steps for cooking as compared to the other. Ever thought about nutrient losses that might be occurring while cooking?

I thought of writing this blog as I have seen my “cook” cooking in some different ways wherein you will end up losing all nutrients. I am sure many of us might be doing the same unknowingly.

Here are 10 simple tips which will help you retain nutrients while cooking. So that you can ensure highly nutritious food being served to your loved ones.

When peeling the skin of vegetables do peel as thinly as possible. The nutrients in vegetables and fruits are concentrated just below the skin, so peeling before boiling increases the loss of Vitamin C, Folic Acid and other B vitamins. The peels of carrot, radish, gourd and ginger can be scraped instead of peeling. Peel only when absolutely necessary.
Do not cut vegetables into very small cubes as the surface area of vegetable increases that comes in contact with oxygen, destroying more
Don’t soak vegetables in water to prevent discoloration-Almost 40% of water-soluble vitamins and minerals are lost in the water. If you must soak, use up the soaking water to knead the dough, prepare soups and gravies
Salads should be prepared just before serving and should be served in closed dishes to avoid excessive exposure to air.
Do not throw away the excess water drained after boiling rice or vegetables. When preparing cottage cheese, the water left over after curdling (called whey)-is extremely rich in good quality proteins and vitamins and should be used up in preparing gravies, kneading dough or simply had as a refreshing drink after flavouring with lemon juice, salt and pepper.
Do not keep milk open or exposed to light, as a considerable destruction of riboflavin can occur.
It is preferable to cook vegetables in a minimum amount of water keeping the vessel covered and to consume it as soon as possible. Reheating cooked vegetables further destroys vitamins.
Root vegetables should be boiled with skins on and then peeled after boiling. This helps the nutrients to migrate to the centre of the vegetables, helping better retention of its nutrients. Do eat with skin on whenever possible.
Baking soda makes cooking water alkaline and thus helps retain the colour of vegetables as well as speed up the cooking process, BUT it destroys thiamine and vitamin C.
Deep frying and heating for a long time or heating at a high temperature should be avoided during cooking. If food material is heated above 70⁰C for a long duration, proteins become hard and coagulated. In this form, they are not easily absorbed by the body. Thus, overcooking results in loss of precious nutrients.

Do ensure you try these tips and make your food nutritious. Since Healthy food = Healthy you.

May 7, 2018 By Urvashi Sareen 2 Comments

10 Foods that can fill you up

If you were to describe ‘The Perfect Food’, it would probably be: healthy, delicious, bigger than a morsel and filling enough to fight hunger for hours. “Foods that promote satiety”—a feeling of lasting fullness. In this blog, I have listed down some foods which are healthy and yet filling.

Baked potato

The potato has been unfairly demonized—it’s actually a potent hunger tamer. Though potatoes are often shunned because they’re considered high in carbohydrates, they shouldn’t be. Whether baked or boiled, they’re loaded with vitamins, fibre and other nutrients. Baked potato get you steady energy and lasting fullness after noshing on them.

Feel even fuller: Eat baked and boiled tubers skin-on to get more fibre for just 160 calories a pop.

2. Bean soup

Soups have high water content, which means they fill your stomach with very few calories. Broth-based bean soups, in particular, contain a hefty dose of fibre and resistant starch—a good carb that slows the release of sugar into the bloodstream—to make that full feeling really stick. “Once in the stomach, fibre and water activate stretch receptors that signal that you aren’t hungry anymore.

Feel even fuller: Resist the cracker pack on the side in favour of a bigger soup helping. Beans are starchy, satisfying and caloric enough on their own. To give variations to your soup, you can throw lentils, black-eyed peas or kidney or navy beans into a vinegar-based salad too.

3. Eggs

Eggs are one of the few foods that are a complete protein, meaning they contain all nine essential amino acids that your body can’t make itself. Once digested, those amino acids trigger the release of hormones in your gut that suppress appetite.

Feel even fuller: Don’t discard the yolks—about half an egg’s protein lives in those yellow parts. Adding vegetables to a scramble boosts its volume and fibre content for few extra calories (an egg has 78Kcal, and a cup of spinach just 7Kcal).

4. Yoghurt

Yoghurt is the single best food for shedding pounds: Over time, people who downed more of the protein-packed stuff lost pounds without trying. Yoghurt contains dairy proteins which increase satiety, reduces food intake and keeps blood sugar steady.
Feel even fuller: Top yoghurt with fibrous foods like raspberries (4 grams of fibre per half cup) or cucumber (9 grams per three-quarters of a cup).

5. Apples

Apples are one of the few fruits that contain pectin, which naturally slows digestion and promotes a feeling of fullness. In fact, people who ate an apple as part of a meal felt more satiated and ate less than those who consumed a calorically equivalent amount of juice and applesauce. “Whole apples take a long time to eat for very few calories. Your body has more time to tell your brain that you’re no longer hungry. That means you can eat lots of this low-energy-density, high-satiety fruit and avoid feeling deprived while losing weight.

Feel even fuller: Add apple chunks to oatmeal or salad.

6. Popcorn

This movie-night favourite is a low-energy-density food—for 90 calories, you could eat 3 cups of air-popped corn but whereas for the same number of calories you can just have a quarter cup of potato chips. This means, that a quarter cup of potato chips has 90 calories whereas 3 cups of plain air-popped popcorns have just 90 calories, so it is more filling. Popcorn takes up more room in your stomach, and seeing a big bowl of it in front of you tricks you into thinking that you’re eating more calories and that you’ll feel full when you’re finished.

Feel even fuller: Sprinkle some red pepper on popcorns or any meal. In a recent Purdue University study, people who added a half teaspoon of the spice to their meal felt less hungry.

7. Figs

A great natural cure for a sweet tooth, fresh figs have a dense consistency and sweet flesh that’s high in fibre (each 37-calorie fig packs about a gram), which slows the release of sugar into the blood, preventing the erratic high caused by cookies or cake.

Feel even fuller: Split the fig in half and add protein such as a teaspoon of cheese or add walnuts.

8. Oatmeal

Oatmeal’s filling force comes from its high fibre content and its uncanny ability to soak up liquid like a sponge. When cooked with water or skim milk, the oats thicken and take more time to pass through your digestive system, meaning you’ll go longer between hunger pangs.

Feel even fuller: Sprinkle almonds on top of your bowl. “The nuts pack protein and fibre and contain unsaturated fats that can help stabilize insulin levels,” regulating blood sugar.

9. Smoothies

While most beverages don’t satisfy hunger very well, drinks blended full of air are an exception: They cause people to feel satiated and eat less at their next meal. Just be sure you’re not whipping your smoothie full of sugary, caloric ingredients like fruit juices or flavoured syrups, which will negate the health benefits.

Feel even fuller: Put ice and fat-free milk or yoghurt in a blender, add in fruit and give it a whirl. Try strawberries, which are extremely low in energy density—they’re 92 percent water!—and bananas, which are loaded with resistant starch.

10. Wheat berries

Wheat berries are whole-wheat kernels which contain one of the highest amounts of protein and fibre per serving of any grain (6 grams of protein and 6 grams of fibre).

Protein triggers the hormone ghrelin to tell our brain that we are satisfied and fibre activates appetite-suppressing gut hormones.

Feel even fuller: Toss wheat berries with apples, nuts and other diet-friendly foods to make a super tasty salad.

May 3, 2018 By Luke Coutinho Leave a Comment

Ways to become “mindful”

Learning to focus the mind can be a powerful antidote to the stress and strains of our fast-paced on-the-go lives. The ability to pay attention to what you’re experiencing from moment to moment — without drifting into thoughts of the past or concerns about the future, or getting caught up in opinions about what is going on — is called ‘Mindfulness’.

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This basic mindfulness meditation exercise is easy to learn and practice.

Firstly, sit on a straight-backed chair, or cross-legged on the floor.
Focus on an aspect of your breathing, such as the sensations of air flowing into your nostrils and out of your mouth, or your belly rising and falling as you inhale and exhale.
Once you’ve narrowed your concentration in this way, begin to widen your focus. Become aware of sounds, sensations, and ideas.
Embrace and consider each thought or sensation without judging it as good or bad. If your mind starts to race, return your focus to your breathing. Then expand your awareness again.

The effects of mindfulness meditation tend to be dose-related — the more you practice it, the more benefits you usually experience.

A less formal approach can also help you stay in the present and fully engage in your life. You can practice mindfulness at any time or during any task, whether you are eating, showering, walking, touching a partner, or playing with a child. Here’s how:

Start by bringing your attention to the sensations in your body.
Breathe in through your nose, allowing the air to move downward into your lower belly. Let your abdomen expand fully. Then breathe out through your mouth. Notice the sensations of each inhalation and exhalation.
Proceed with the task at hand slowly and with full deliberation.
Engage your senses fully. Notice each sight, touch, and sound so that you savour every sensation.
When you notice that your mind has wandered from the task at hand, gently bring your attention back to the sensations of the moment.

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