new year tips Archives

January 1, 2020 By Dr. Viral Thakkar Leave a Comment

Celebrating the New Year? Read This Before You Head Out!

It’s that time of the year again! The Christmas bells ring and the New Year sweeps us yet again! For many, it sweeps with a lot booze & puke! And for many, this happens every week. So here it is guys, the gyaan of what you should and should not do this New Year (or even weekends for that matter).

I am a firm believer of ‘Health First’, be it New Years or Diwali. While the New Year comes once, the ‘dump’ you put inside it wrecks your system in and out. Trust me, if I was the body, I would hate New Years every year of my life!

Let’s Talk About Alcohol

The body can safely process around one unit of pure alcohol per hour. If you drink more than this, your body isn’t able to break it down fast enough and it accumulates in your body. It takes a lot of time to flush it out and the pressure on the liver and the body as a whole is immense.

Binge drinking increases the risk of blackouts, especially on an empty stomach. During this time, a person may do things that they do not remember later. So in case you are planning to drink, know your limits and of course listen to your body. Booze might be free but the body is priceless. Take a call on what you should prioritize.

Our body is designed to ensure that the nutrients reach the organs. All the food goes through the liver which processes the food and passes it on. Same is the case with alcohol. The liver metabolizes the alcohol, but it can only break down so much at one time. What the liver can’t break down is redirected throughout the rest of the body.

Drugs

Please know that consuming, passing on or giving drugs is illegal. Consuming high quantities of drugs can lead to poisoning and eventual death. Worse, if one is addicted, it is extremely difficult to bounce back to normal. Drugs can leave one in semiconscious/ unconscious conditions leaving the person vulnerable to literally ‘anything’. So if you are partying, or are attending a rave, please be safe! Best, don’t attend!

Too Much of Anything

Be it food, drinks, dancing or loud music – anything in excess is bad for your system just as alcohol, smoking or drugs. Too loud music hits the eardrums. That buzz you get in your head after the loud music is your body telling you that it has had enough!

Sex is beneficial and super for health, if done safely and with a known partner. So if you know you are going to get high, have a few friends who will protect you from the unwanted attention. Be safe. Else, just plan it with your partner!

Tips for a Happy, Healthy and Safe New Year

In case of excess of alcohol consumption, the person might pass out or vomit. If you are in your senses, be with the person. Ensure they don’t choke on their vomit and that their breathing is normal. If not, rush to the hospital.
If you are hell bent on drinking, ensure you do not have more than a peg in an hour. It will give your body enough time to process it.
Listen to your body! If on any drink, you start feeling uncomfortable, or breathless, stop drinking immediately. Drink a lot of water which will help you flush out the drink. If you still feel uncomfortable, rush to the hospital
If you have done all of what should NOT be done, ensure that you give your body some rest in the coming 2 days. Flush it out by drinking lots of fluids and eating salads. Detox it should be!
Imagine a car loader which is overloaded with stuff. If one keeps overloading it, it will break down eventually. Compare this to your body and load it with only as much as it can take. If you do not know how much the body can take, consider the tips above.
Hire a driver or take the car rentals if you’re going to get high.

I know I sound like an oldie here with no life but I am a firm believer of protecting and befriending the body. If a party has to happen, I personally suggest people to chill with friends at home and order from your favourite food joint. Apart from saving money, I end up playing board games, eating my favorite food, catching up with friends & family and ending with a good night meditation. But everyone is not me! If you are not, consider the tips above, and enjoy your party!

Wish you all a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year!

#BeTheForce

December 27, 2019 By Luke Coutinho 2 Comments

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

It’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 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 favourite 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 that dessert. 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 or picture pretty. 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, burping.
You learn to savour 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 you 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, savour 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, savour the flavour 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, you can enjoy all the foods you like in moderation.

#BeTheForce