The most simplistic route to health: Exercise

“An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.”
― Henry David Thoreau

Exercise is defined as an activity requiring physical effort, carried out to sustain or improve health and fitness. Physical exercise is a rigorous, repetitive and effective way through which we can maintain our  overall health and wellness. Exercise should form an integral part of our daily routine as it has numerous benefits.  Not only does exercise tone your body, it strengthens your muscles, keeps your bones strong, relaxes you, induces better sleep , helps in attaining a stronger immune function and tames mood swings.

Recent studies have revealed that taking out time for exercise reduces physical and mental stress and boosts the body’s ability to cope with mental pressure and tension. Exercise helps in alleviating the level of physical fitness and improves one’s self-confidence. Due to the significant rise in smoking and drinking habits in teenagers, cardiovascular exercise is recommended to help them deal with addiction.

Working out also helps in sharpening of memory and brain power. It helps combat health conditions such as type 2 diabetes, cancer, heart problems, depression, obesity and releases endorphins, which creates feelings of happiness and euphoria. Exercise boosts up blood circulation, flushes out the toxins and blesses us with a healthy skin and a clear complexion.

Fitting regular exercise into your daily schedule may seem difficult and a lot of extra work at first. But even ten minutes can bring out effective and positive results.

Friedrich Nietzsche said “All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking”. Who knows what great ideas you come up with during that run.. So get up and take a step towards leading a healthy lifestyle!!!

Not so milk-and-water way to lose those extra inches: A low-glycemic diet

Here’s a good news for all those out there trying to lose those inches so as to squeeze into their skinny dresses. Having resisted those pastas and muffins, here’s the next big thing which will help you lose weight and thankfully, it’s not a low-fat or low-flavour diet. It is a low-glycemic diet. A low-glycemic diet monitors the blood sugar levels which helps you shed weight. A low-glycemic diet selects those foods based on minimal alteration of circulating glucose levels. It is really important to balance your blood-sugar levels. 

For this, managing your diet is the key.

There are many advantages of a low-glycemic diet. Some of them are:

Better balance in blood sugar levels: Eating low-glycemic foods help in keeping the blood sugar levels under control. This reduces the need for insulin and thus, less hunger pangs.

Reduces the risk of diseases: A diet with low glycemic level reduces the risk of diabetes, coronary heart disease, gallbladder disease, and breast cancer. If the diet is rich in fiber, it’s even more preventive.

Increased level of energy: Low-glycemic foods take longer to digest and thus, provide a continued amount of energy for muscles. Starting your day with a low-glycemic diet is a very good idea.

Better stable moods: Depending on the kind of foods you eat, your mood rises and drops as fast as a rollercoaster. High glycemic diets often give you an immediate but short-lived high and the mood crashes immediately. Whereas, a low-glycemic diet would gradually boost insulin production, keeping blood sugar level in balance. This keeps your mood sunny and even all day long.

Here’s a list of food items which are low on glycemic levels:

üApple
ü  Baked beans
ü  Beans
ü  Whole grain breads
ü  Broccoli
ü  Carrots
ü  Salted cashews
ü  Cauliflower
ü  Celery
ü  Cherries
ü  Chickpeas
ü  Cucumber
ü  Green grapes
ü  Green and brown lentils
ü  Lettuce
ü  Mango
ü  Maple syrup
ü  Oatmeal
ü  Orange
ü  Whole wheat pasta
ü  Peach
ü  Green peas
ü  Brown rice
ü  Lentil soup
ü  Strawberry jam
ü  Sweet potato
ü  Tomato juice and soup
ü  Low-fat yogurt

So folks, go for it and lose those extra inches without having so much to resist! 

Three Whites that blacketh health - Part III: White Salt

After apprising you of the detrimental effects of white sugar and white flour, I’d like to introduce you to the third maniacal ingredient that falls in this league ; White Salt. Yes; The most common ingredient in any cuisine. The salt has a unique quality to it. If used in just the right amount, it accentuates the taste of a dish, but if in excess, spoils the delicacy. This is the exact impact salt has on our body. If consumed in right quantity, or I should say moderate quantity, it benefits the body largely. But when in excess, causes adverse impact to our system. Let’s have a look at the problems caused by consuming a high salt diet.

1. Blood pressure

 It is the amount of pressure that blood exerts on our blood vessels as it is circulated through the body. Diet that is high on salt diet increases your blood pressure, resulting in heart attacks and strokes. For a normal blood pressure, the systolic pressure should be around 120-130 mmHg and diastolic between 80-90 mmHg. Above it, the blood pressure is in high range and needs concern.  B.P can be maintained by reducing the intake of salt and with regular exercising.

2. Stroke

Reduced flow of oxygen to the brain due to blood supply cut off causes a stroke. High intake of salt causes the vessels of rupture and causes stroke.

3. Stomach cancer

A high salt diet increases the risk of stomach cancer by damaging the stomach lining, making it susceptible to further damages by various substances.

4. Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis means thinning of bones, making them brittle and prone to breaking. A high salt diet removes calcium from bones and leads to osteoporosis. 

Other than these major problems, high intake of salt also leads to Obesity, Kidney Stones, Asthma, Dementia and Diabetes.

Three Whites that blacketh health - Part II: White Flour

Come morning and the day starts with a diet that boasts of pancakes, bagels, toasts, biscuits and other items in this league, but the common thread? The ignominious ingredient-White Flour. White flour seems to be a part of the culinary world all over the globe. Used so widely, it has become a staple for the households. But there is so much to this ingredient than what meets the eye. This ingredient finds its way into our body through one way or other and sticks there, unleashing a slow yet adverse effect on the health. Let’s take a look over the common harmful effects of white flour:

1.       Obesity and Blood Sugar Disorders:-
Consuming white flour straightaway causes the blood sugar to shoot up and in turn, puts pressure on the pancreas to produce insulin to counter that. With prolonged consumption of white flour, the pancreas gets worn out and stops producing insulin, thus causing diabetes.
 

2.       The glue that sticks to your gut:-
Mix some white flour with some water and what you obtain is a strong adhesive substance that you can use as a substitute for the synthetic glues, such is the potential of this white flour. Now imagine how it would be sticking to our insides when consumed. It sticks to our intestines, slows down the metabolism and causes blockage.

3.       Leads to wheat allergy:-
The only reason why most of us haven’t heard of wheat allergy is precisely because it does not show immediate signs. It takes its own time to give you problems that take a heavy toll on your body. White flour is obtained from hybrid seeds by expediting the growth process with the heavy use of chemicals and fertilizers. This leaves white flour devoid it of any nutritional value whatsoever, thus this substance becomes difficult to be digested and causes various ailments.
Wheat allergy may not show strong symptoms in a patient, but over a period of time, it can lead many problems like psychosis, asthma, depression, narcoleps, obesity and many more.

4.       Acidic in nature:-
White flour is acidic in nature which makes it all the more hazardous for health. It causes various gastrointestinal problems like Acid reflux, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Acidity
 

Three Whites that blacketh health - Part I: White Sugar

Despite a million warnings that we hear against white sugar, we still can’t rid ourselves of the habit of these white sweet crystals. Even the very organic brown sugar isn’t all that healthy and is hardly different from white sugar. And with such increasing demand for sugar, its supply is also increasing with an equivalent (or even greater) supply of various diseases like diabetes that are infecting the planet. So how do we substitute this sweetener to better our health? And with what? Hard questions indeed!

Before I suggest you healthy alternatives for white sugar, I want all my readers to be more convinced of the need for replacement in the first place. Here is a list of reasons which I hope, not only convinces but, rings alarm bells for all the white sugar consumers:

• ·         Declines growth hormone
• ·         Feeds cancer
• ·         Increases cholesterol
• ·         Weakens eyesight
• ·         Causes drowsiness in children
• ·         Slows absorption of protein
• ·         Causes food allergies
• ·         Contributes to diabetes
• ·         May contribute to eczema in children
• ·         May cause cardiovascular disease
• ·         May impair the structure of DNA
• ·         May cause hyperactivity, anxiety and crankiness in children
• ·         Reduces immunity against bacterial infection
• ·         Assists the uncontrolled growth of yeast infections
• ·         Contributes to osteoporosis

Now, we are ready and more receptive to an alternative. So here it is. We have two natural and healthy (literally) alternatives for sugar:

Stevia from the Asteraceae family: It is calorie-free, thus, does not affect production of insulin. It is 300 times sweeter than sugar and so only little amount is needed to replace sugar. Not many reports of toxicity with Stevia have been reported but the only thing bad about this otherwise all-good product is that it can taste slightly bitter in some recipes. But this bitterness can be done away with by adding the other natural sweetener along with it, Xylitol.

Xylitol: A very healthy substitute for white sugar with various benefits. It has a minimal impact on blood sugar and insulin levels. It has a glycemic index of 7 as against 60 of sucrose. It prevents yeast infections, plaque and dental cavities up to 80%. It slows demineralization and enhances re-mineralization of tooth enamel.

As Stevia might be bitter with some recipes, Xylitol can be a bit expensive. These two can be mixed in the ratio 1:12 (1 part of Stevia with 12 parts of Xylitol) and this mixture will make it sweet with any recipe and more affordable than only Xylitol.

Since the word is out on the benefits of Stevia and Xylitol, these are easily available in grocery stores, online and more. These miraculous substitutes will turn your cakes healthy and you guilt-free!

Naturopath Dr Urvashi Gandhi visits Art of Living center this historic Yoga Day

International Yoga Day’15 has made its place into the Guinness Book of World Records with 35,000 people taking part in a mass yoga program led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The event has been the largest yoga class that ever happened at a single venue. With such enthusiasm toward the event enthralling the country, naturopath Urvashi Gandhi visited the International Center of the Art of Living (AOL) in Bangalore.

Urvashi Gandhi met Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the president of the Art of Living, commonly referred to as Guru ji. Urvashi’s association with naturopathy and her career into it was really appreciated by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and he referred her to Panchakarma, the Ayurveda Center in the International Center of AOL, where an entire section is dedicated to naturopathic treatments.

After her meeting with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Urvashi said, “I felt very peaceful and overwhelmed as I could feel the positivity surround me. On being introduced to Guru ji as a doctor of naturopathy, he seemed very happy and blessed me”.

Panchakarma is one of the largest ayurvedic hospitals of Asia. The yogic practices followed in the campus are devised by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the primary being Sudarshan Kriya. Sudarshan Kriya and other accompanying practices are time-honoring stress management techniques and their benefits are being established by various medical institutes like AIIMS (New Delhi) and Harvard (USA). Urvashi visited the hospital and is planning to volunteer there as a doctor soon.

 On this Yoga Day, Urvashi also elaborated on Sudarshan Kriya and its various benefits through her blogs. She has been visiting various NGOs and teaching Sudarshan Kriya to thousands.

The kriya’s most important benefit being reduced stress levels, other benefits also play significant in enhancing one’s body system. It helps support the immune system, increases optimism, relieves depression, increases anti-oxidant protection and boosts brain function.

Map your route to fitness through yoga

During a conversation with one of my colleagues, she said she wanted to confess something. After battling with some inhibitions, she finally told me that she was dissatisfied with the way she looked and could not accept her changing body. I laughed it off asking which league of girls is able to accept itself for their bodies. But her urgency seemed more than usual and she asked me for some help. With all these yoga selfies being tweeted and the pomp and show for the upcoming yoga day, I could think of nothing but yoga to mollify her anxiety. I told her about three basic yogic postures which work wonders for weight loss and body toning. So as June 21 is right here, tickling our health consciousness, I decided to dedicate a post to yoga for my readers and here are those three easy yet miraculous yoga postures which I advised to my colleague and now to you:

The half moon pose
ü  Helps tone your buttocks, upper and inner thighs and extra stretches on the sides of your tummy.
1.      Stand with your feet joined together.
2.      Raise your hands while clasping your palms. Take it above your head and stretch toward the ceiling.
3.      Exhale and bend sideways while you keep your hands straight and palms clasped. Do not bend forward. Feel the stretch from your fingertips and your thighs.
4.      Inhale and get back to your standing position. Repeat the same on the other side.

Warrior Pose
ü  As the name suggests, this pose strengthens your thighs, buttock and tummy, while helping you lose weight.
1.      Stand with your feet joined together and your hands by your side.
2.      Extend your right leg forward and keep your left leg extended backwards.
3.      Bend your right knee to get into the lunge position.
4.      Move your chest to face the bent right leg.
5.      Turn left foot sideways by 40⁰-60⁰ for support.
6.      Exhale and straighten your arms. Raise your body away from the bent knee.
7.      Stretch up your arms in the upward direction and curve your chest backwards to form an arch.
8.      Exhale and straighten your right knee. Push the right leg and come back to your original position. Use your hands for support and do not rush as it may lead to some injury. Repeat the same for the other leg.

Chair pose
ü  Tones the buttocks and strengthens muscles and thighs.
1.      Stand straight with your hands joined in Namaste.
2.      Raise your hands above your head and bend at the knee so that your thighs are parallel to the floor.
3.      Slightly bend your chest in the forward and breathe.
4.      Hold this position for as long as you can and then come back to the standing position.