Friday, December 26, 2008

Antioxidants in the Kitchen

In today’s world, antioxidants protect our body against damage done by free radicals, chemicals, toxins and pollution. Unlike 30 years ago, today medical scientists, doctors, nutritionists will you that:

Heart attacks, angina, heart failure, stroke, ageing, brain damage, kidney, radiation sickness, Rheumatoid arthritis, male infertility, Retinopathy of prematurity, malnutrition, common cold and cancer have a common cause.

Antioxidants are phyto-chemicals derived from natural colors present in our food. The carotenoids, lycopene, and vitamin C found in them prevent, retard and reverse cancer, eye disorders, strokes, etc. they are little soldiers that protect our body and fortunately, we do not need to pop pills to derive their benefits.

Let us look in our Indian kitchens – they are a virtual antioxidant pillbox in themselves. A meal in a regular Indian household is a magic canon loaded to combat diseases. The variety of fruits, vegetables herbs, spices, condiments, grains, pulses and cold pressed oils are the bullets. The Indian diet is a riot of natural colors – so load on the guavas, papayas, oranges, bananas, and amlas – the list is endless.

And much as we might have hated it then, dadima was actually right. She hit the nail on the head by making us eat karela, palak or methi. When she lovingly sprinkled tons of kothmir on our food, little did we know that these were rich in chlorophyll – a major cancer fighter.

Even veggies like cabbage, cauliflower, radish and turnips, commonly eaten by most Indian households are great crucifiers. These vegetables are all on the cancer and heart disease prevention map, providing amazing protection to our immune system. Meanwhile, soups, rasams, purees and low fat gravies of tomato cut your risk of prostate cancer by half.
Though onions and garlic make you cry, they repel and lower cholesterol, prevent arthritis, constipation, common colds, and flu and cancer risks. ‘Chapata’ potato and sweet potato chaat (with their skin) are a good source of phyto-chemicals and are antidepressants.

Among the species, turmeric is a virtual gold mine. Not only does it flight heart diseases, lowers triglycerides and is an anti-Alzheimer, turmeric also reduces the risk of cancer and is anti-inflammatory. And while the red color in red chillis is excellent for arthritis, cumin stops the process of cancer by preventing DNA to blind with cancer cells. Flavaniods in ajwain and mint not only prevent flatulence, colds and digestive disorders, they cause cancer cells to mutate. In addition, flax seeds contain 100 times more ligans, which help in lowering cholesterol.

Cold pressed oils like olive, groundnut, sesame, mustard and sunflower contain omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids, which cut down the risk of elevated lipids and cholesterol.

Grains including bajra, jowar, barley and brown rice are great sources of soluble fiber, and help to lower cholesterol. Pulses like rajma and chana help in battling heart diseases, cancer and osteoporosis.

It’s important to remember that chemicals, preservatives and addictives are all a cause of diseases. They are high in free radicals so let’s be smart and in all our foods let’s go organic. The best part is that we do not need to make any drastic changes to our food habits – these food items have been handed down to us through generations. It depends on us to understand and appreciate it. The Indian meal can be one of the healthiest and heartiest. So throw out those pills and dig deeper in your kitchen – the remedies are in front of you!

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

How to avoid injuries at gym

A regular workout is a very common and practical way to counter the harmful effects of a sedentary lifestyle. However, one may suffer from gym related injuries if some simple precautions are not followed. There are two basic categories of such injuries: the sudden injury and the slowly progressing injury, the former being more sinister.

Gym activities may also aggravate some pre-existing ailments, like osteoarthritis, or precipitate cardiac problems like angina in people who are predisposed. Proper warm up should be done to prevent such occurrences. Here are some simple tips to prevent such injuries:

Wear appropriate clothing and closed footwear

Get yourself checked by a physician before you start any strength-training program. Some conditions like muscle or joint problems, seizure disorders, heart disease, high blood pressure, previous injuries or any other physical condition with potential for danger may require that you modify your exercise program.

It is preferable to start gym activities under the supervision of a trainer who can devise a workout program specific for your needs

Never workout when you are tired or ill

Always warm up first. Muscles that haven’t been properly prepared tend to be injured more easily. If there is a significant break in between, start again with gentle exercises

It is equally important to cool down and stretch for a number of reasons. It flushes out lactic acid from the muscles, reducing post workout soreness. It also allows the heart rate to return to a normal to a normal resting level thus avoiding dizziness or light headedness. Stretching while muscles are warm gives the greatest benefit to flexibility and also decreases post workout soreness.

Do not life weight with jerk

Holding your breath while lifting weights can cause increased abdominal pressure that can lead to hernia.

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Drink Water On Empty Stomach ...:)

DRINK WATER ON EMPTY STOMACH

It is popular in Japan today to drink water immediately after waking up every morning. Furthermore, scientific tests have proven its value. We publish below a description of use of water for our readers. For old and serious diseases as well as modern illnesses the water treatment had been found successful by a Japanese medical society as a 100% cure for the following diseases:
Headache, body ache, heart system, arthritis, fast heart beat, epilepsy, excess fatness, bronchitis asthma, TB, meningitis, kidney and urine diseases, vomiting, gastritis, diarrhea, piles, diabetes, constipation, all eye diseases, womb, cancer and menstrual disorders, ear nose and throat
diseases.


METHOD OF TREATMENT

1. As you wake up in the morning before brushing teeth drink 4x 160ml glasses of water
2. Brush and clean the mouth but do not eat or drink anything for 45 minute
3. After 45 minutes you may eat and drink as normal.
4. After 15 minutes of breakfast, lunch and dinner do not eat or drink anything for 2 hours
5. Those who are old or sick and are unable to drink 4 glasses of water at the beginning may commence by taking little water and gradually increase it to 4 glasses per day.
6. The above method of treatment will cure diseases of the sick and others can enjoy a healthy life.


The following list gives the number of days of treatment required to cure/control/reduce main diseases:

1.High Blood Pressure (30 days)
2.Gastric (10 days)
3.Diabetes (30 days)
4.Constipation (10 days)
5.Cancer (180 days)
6.TB (90 days)
7.Arthritis patients should follow the above treatment only for 3 days in the 1st week, and from 2nd week onwards – daily.

This treatment method has no side effects, however at the commencement of treatment you may have to urinate a few times.

It is better if we continue this and make this procedure as a routine work in our life. Drink Water and Stay healthy and Active.

This makes sense .. The Chinese and Japanese drink hot tea with their meals ..not cold water. Maybe it is time we adopt their drinking habit while eating!!! Nothing to lose, everything to gain...

For those who like to drink cold water, this article is applicable to you:
It is nice to have a cup of cold drink after a meal.
However, the cold water will solidify the oily stuff that you have just consumed. It will slow down the digestion.

Once this "sludge" reacts with the acid, it will break down and be absorbed by the intestine faster than the solid food. It will line the intestine.

Very soon, this will turn into fats and lead to cancer. It is best to drink hot soup or warm water after a meal.

A serious note about heart attacks:
·Women should know that not every heart attack symptom is going to be the left arm hurting,
·Be aware of intense pain in the jaw line.
·You may never have the first chest pain during the course of a heart attack.
·Nausea and intense sweating are also common symptoms.
·60% of people who have a heart attack while they are asleep do not wake up.
·Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound sleep. Let's be careful and be aware. The more we know, the better chance we could survive...

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Eat Healthy this winter

Have boiled or baked vegetables. Don’t overcook vegetables.

Eat two or three servings of fruits every day.

Include carbohydrates in your diet with whole wheat toast, brown rice, phulkas, pasta, oats or ragi porridge, and coarse cereals like jowar, oat bran, wheat flakes etc.

Include pulses like moong and rajma as they are highly nutritious.

Herbal teas like green tea and lemongrass tea are good. You can add honey for taste.

Avoid much of fried foods and desserts.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

How to quit smoking

Deciding how to quit smoking is one of the best decisions you can possibly take and a difficult choice to cope with. These are some of the ways to quit smoking and remain smoke free.

Take an Oral Substitute:
In one study, about 25 percent of quitters found that an oral substitute was invaluable. Another 25 percent didn’t like the idea at all. They wanted a clean break with cigarettes. The rest weren’t certain. One can use cinnamon sticks, chewing gum or artificial cigarettes as a substitute. You will mostly find that after the first week of being a non smoker, you wouldn’t even need these.

Get Exercising:
Go to gym; sit in the steam, exercise. Change your normal routine, take time to walk or even go around the block or in the local park.

Pamper yourself:
Go ahead and join a yoga class or maybe reiki they’re great! Get a one hour massage, take a long bath – pamper yourself. Get yourself involved in a hobby.

Ask for support:
As for support from co-workers, friends and family members. Ask for their tolerance. Let them know you’re quitting, and that you might be edgy or grumpy for a few days. If you don’t ask for support, you’ll be surprised how much if can help. Ask friends and family members not to smoke in your presence.

Destroy all your Cigarettes:
On your quit day, hide all ashtrays and destroy all your cigarettes, preferably with water, so no past of them is smokeable.

Write it down:
Write down ten good things about being a non-smoker and ten bad things about smoking. It really helps.

Don’t Pretend:
Don’t pretend smoking wasn’t enjoyable it was. This is like losing a good friend and its okay to grieve the loss. Feel the grief, don’t worry, its okay. Feel and you heal. Stay with it and you can do it.

Thursday, December 4, 2008

For Improving Memory Power

1. PROCEDURAL/ KINESTHETIC MEMORY :Physical activities like riding bicycle, swimming etc , Stays in memory forever.


2. SEMANTIC MEMORY : Knowledge of language, concpts, ideas. Reasonably stays in memory.


3. EPISODE MEMORY : Situation based. Does not stay in memory for long.



FOR IMPROVING MEMORY POWER


1. Rmember by picturising than by words.

2. Repeat those things which you want to remember.

3. Involve in puzzles, riddles, brain - teasing games.

4. Memorise in small bits and pieces (instead of whole, big).

5. Avoid distrction (like phone calls, music, etc.) when you want to remember.

6. Use brain - Think, visualise, imagine.

7. Do physical exericises (increases oxygen content in blood).

8.Do relaxation techniques-slow breathing, meditation.

9. Avoid tranquilisers, alcohol,drugs . They affect memory power.

10 Eat more:

(a) Proteins
(b)Vitamins A,B,C,E: Fruits,greens.leafy vegetables, pulses, nuts, bread.

11. Don't worry that your memory power is less. The worry itself affects your memory.Only a relaxed mind can memorise better.

12. You notmally remember what you feel is important for you. Feel the importance of the thing which you want to remember.

13. Perform inverted postures which make more blood to flow into brain by the help of gravity.
Reply With Quote

Monday, December 1, 2008

Garlic Remedy - Self Detoxification

Before you go to bed at night, prepare this magic potion: Finely chop or
use the food blender to chop up two cloves of fresh garlic and let it
expose to the air for a few minutes while you wash up your blender or
chopping board.

The chopping releases the enzyme allinase in the garlic. Gather the
chopped garlic on a spoon and swallow it with water.

The garlic will travel your entire digestive tract while you sleep and
scavenge and neutralize all the toxins, carcinogens, harmful bacteria,
fungi, viruses, foreign chemical before they can harm your healthy cells.

Swallowing the chopped garlic will not give you garlic breath, as long as
you don't chew it. You brush your teeth and rinse your mouth before you go
to bed anyway.

In the morning, drink a big glass of water. Your first bowel movement will
have a strong garlic odor and you will know that the harmful stuff have
been eliminated from your body. Try it, especially if you have had a bad
eating day.

Bone Strength Exercises


People who exercise regularly are less likely to suffer from fractures or bone injuries –and ailments such as osteoporosis and back pain can be reduced or prevented with regular exercise. Weight breathing exercises can improve calcium deposition in the bones.

How does exercise help build strong bones?

Exercise helps develop and maintain healthy bones. It builds strength and stamina, and increases bone density. The human skeleton comprises 206 bones, which gives our body its framework. Bones also need calcium, which is their source of nourishment. The right kind of exercise can improve calcium absorption in the bones. This is why regular exercise results in greater bone density.

What kind of exercise strengthens bones?

The two types of exercise that helps strengthen bones are weight-bearing and resistance training exercises. Weight-bearing exercises are those in which the bones and muscles work against gravity. Any exercise where feet and legs bear the body’s weight while exercising is called weight-bearing exercise. Examples are walking, jogging, stair climbing, dancing, tennis, golf and soccer.

Resistance training exercises are those exercises that use resistance to strengthen the bone and muscles. Examples are weight-training exercises using machines, free weights or body weight.

Do these exercises in two sets of 12 repetitions.

Bicep burls (works the biceps)
Sit or stand tall. Hold weights in your palms, bend your elbows slowly tensing the bicep muscles as you lift up, and then lower down.

Calf lifts (works the calf)
Stand with your heels off the edge of a step. Now, slowly raise yourself up on your toes and then lower down.

Butt Bridge (works the hips and thighs)
Lie of your back with feet in the floor, and your knees bent shoulder-width apart. Raise your pelvis and squeeze your hips as you lift up. Slowly return to starting position.

Ratings and Recommendations by outbrain

Blog Widget by LinkWithin