How to increase Metabolism?

Believe it or not, simply changing a few daily habits can have a major impact on your metabolism! If you’re trying to lose weight, increasing your metabolic rate can enable you to lose more weight without cutting more calories.

Here are some tips based on research studies.

What is metabolism?

In the simplest terms, metabolic rate is the rate at which your body burns calories. Very few people have a fast metabolism, and overweight individuals generally have slow metabolisms. However, a faster metabolism will enable you to lose more weight than your friend, even if you both have the same activity level, diet, and weight.

Drink iced water:

As with food, depriving your body of water can encourage it to “hoard” rather than “burn”. When your drink ice cold water, your body burns calories warming it to body temperature. More than ninety percent of the chemical reactions in your body occur in water, so make sure you drink an appropriate amount of water.

Exercise twice a day if possible:

Do your vigorous workout in the morning, and then take a walk after dinner. This way you will continue to burn calories at a higher pace for almost the entire 24 hours.

Boost metabolism in the long run with weight training:

Muscle burns more calories than fat does (73 more calories per kilogram per day, to be exact) so the more muscle you build, the higher your resting metabolic rate (RMR) will be. Every muscle cell that you gain is like a little factory that constantly burns calories for you, even while you sleep, and revs up when you exercise. This is the only way to increase RMR, which accounts for 60 to 70 percent of the calories you burn daily.

Eat Proper Meals:

Never skip meals for the sake of weight loss. Skipping meals sends a signal to your body to lower the metabolism rate as there are fewer calories to burn. With a lower metabolism rate, your calories won’t burn, which will lead to fat accumulation and weight gain. Eating meals will increase your metabolism, thus preventing fat accumulation.

Time Your Meals:

Eat five meals a day. When you eat a meal the metabolism rate is high for about four hours and then is slows down. To increase metabolism you need to eat five meals a day so that it keeps working and burning calories. Increasing metabolism rate also allows you lose weight without going in for a very difficult diet plan. Make sure you eat your meals within four hours of exercise. The metabolism rate in high at that time and thus burns most of the calories thus leading to weight loss.

25 diseases you didnt know you could die from ! :(

1.Batten Disease is a rare, fatal, autosomal recessive neurodegenerative disorder. Early symptoms, appearing around age four-10, are vision problems and seizures. Eventually, children become blind, bedridden, and demented. Life expectancy varies.

2.Bubonic Plague: the World Health Organization (WHO) reports thousands of new cases every year, though there are still under 50 per year in the U.S. Symptoms are chills and fever, swollen lymph nodes, stomach pain, and cough. It is spread primarily by wild rodents so don’t handle dead (or live) rats on a picnic.

3.Buerger’s Disease (Thromboangiitis obliterans) is a disease associated with tobacco use especially in males 20-40 but also in females. It involves clots in the small and medium arteries and veins in the hands and feet and the symptom is pain in these areas. It often leads to amputation which can lead to early death.

4.Campylobacter means “twisted bacteria.” It is one of the main causes of food-born bacterial disease. It is transmitted fecal-orally, and in contaminated food and water. Symptoms last usually five-seven days, but there are around 100 deaths from it per year in the US.

5.Celiac Disease has an excellent prognosis for a long, healthy life if the patient follows a gluten-free diet, but if untreated, the disease can have life-threatening complications, such as autoimmune disorders and certain types of intestinal cancer.

6.Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) is a degenerative neurological disorder that can’t be cured and always leads to death. The first symptom is dementia, which leads to memory loss, personality change, and hallucination. There are physical symptoms such as ataxia, change in gait, seizures. Symptoms are caused by the progressive death of brain cells, leading sooner or later (symptoms can continue for years) to death.

7.Drug-induced Diarrhea is one of your body’s natural defenses against invaders and the invader can be medicine. Sometimes the cause of chronic diarrhea, because it is a medicine, is not found in time to avoid a life-threatening situation.

8.Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever is named after the Ebola River Valley in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The virus damages blood vessel walls so platelets are unable to coagulate, leading to hypovolemic shock. Transmission is through bodily fluids.

9.Familial Mediterranean Fever is a hereditary inflammatory disorder. There are seven types of attacks. Most patients have their first attacks before they are 18. 75 percent experience joint attacks. Chronic renal failure may lead to early death. FMF is most common among Armenians.

10.Fatal familial insomnia, or FFI is a rare genetic condition where people lose the ability to sleep, and it can lead to coma and death.

11.Fatal Hiccups occurs when a bout of hiccups lasts for days, causing the sufferer to be unable to rest or get proper nutrition, which can result in death.

12.Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) is one of the causes of kidney failure. It involves scarring of the glomerulus, a functional part of the nephron.

13.Haff Disease is the development of swelling and breakdown of skeletal muscle (rhabdomyolysis) with risk of acute kidney failure within 24 hours of ingesting fish. Most cases have been in Russia and Germany and followed consumption of burbot, eel and pike, but 6 cases have been reported in the US (1997) involving buffalo fish.

14.Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome is also known as House Mouse Flu because it’s transmitted by infected rodents through droppings, urine, or saliva. Six states have reported 30 or more cases since 1993. Symptoms include tachycardia and tachypnea which can lead to cardiovascular shock. As a side note, The US researched Hantavirus among other agents as potential biological weapons before suspending its program.

15.Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome is a genetic condition characterized by rapid early aging. Patients look normal as infants, then fail to gain weight. They develop external characteristics of aging. Accompanying this is a hardening of the arteries that can result in early heart attack or stroke.

16.Infectious Diarrhea is diarrhea caused by an infection by bacteria, virus, or parasite. It usually last seven days when not treated by antibiotic. In the developing world, infectious diarrhea causes four to six million deaths per year, mainly among children.

17.Legionnaire’s Disease, or Legionellosis, does not always occur in outbreaks such as among American Legionnaires in Philadelphia in 1976, but isolated cases occur. It leads to pneumonia and in five to 30 percent of cases, death.

18.Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) affects females of childbearing age. It involves the disorderly growth of smooth muscles (leiomyoma) in the lungs which results in the obstruction of small airways. May be misdiagnosed as asthma or other common lung disorders. A chronic disease which may not be fatal for decades. Treatment is through lung transplant.

19.Marburg Virus, or just Marburg, originated in Central and East Africa and is also known as the green monkey disease because it originated with primates. It’s spread through bodily fluids, such as blood, saliva, excrement, and vomit. Symptoms, from headache and fever to hemorrhaging and delirium, last one to three weeks, then the afflicted person either gets better or dies.

20.Membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis is caused by deposits in the kidney and membrane thickening. Type II of the disease will progress to end stage renal disease within ten years.

21.Menkes Disease is also called copper transport disease, or kinky hair disease. It affects copper levels in the body, leading to copper deficiency. Onset is usually during infancy. Symptoms can include developmental delay and mental retardation. Death may result from rupture of blockage of arteries in the brain.

22.Norovirus is an RNA virus that causes 90 percent of epidemic nonbacterial outbreaks of gastroenteritis around the world. It affects people of all ages. It is transmitted in faecally contaminated food and water, by person-to-person contact, or by contamination of surfaces. There are a few hundred fatalities in the US every year.

23.Nuclear Factor Kappa B Essential Modulator (NEMO) is a condition discovered in 2007, found only in males, that results in immunodeficiency. Symptoms include repeated infections, conical teeth, fine hair, and abnormal bone growth. Treatment is through bone marrow transplant.

24.Prion Diseases are transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, a family of rare neurodegenerative disorders that affect both humans and animals. They have long incubation periods, progress rapidly, and are always fatal, causing the brain to become sponge-like. One example is Mad Cow Disease.

25.Santavuori-Haltia Disease is a rare, inherited, biochemical disorder involving the build-up of certain chemicals in body tissues due to deficiency of an enzyme needed to process them. Closely associated with neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis, it begins in infancy, causes developmental delay, impaired intelligence, progressive dementia, lowered life expectancy.

8 Tips to Take Control of Your Weight

Anyone who is overweight will testify that losing weight is not as easy as it seems. The people that are lean, or have gone from fat to skinny will say it’s just a matter of motivation and elbow grease. Although it is not as simple as that. Our environments have waged war on us. Their weapons are sedentary lives and Trans fats of mass destruction. All is not lost though, here are some quick simple tips to get ahead!

1. Substitute Water.
Our bodies are about 65-70% water. It follows that water would be not only essential, but the best possibly choice of liquids to ingest. In fact, our bodies will sometimes simulate a hunger response, when in reality the body is craving hydration. When hungry, drink a glass or two of water to check if it suppresses your hunger.

2. Chew Your Food.
Chewing our food very slowly and deliberately has several benefits that are often overlooked. It gives us the ability to relax, and enjoy our meal. Slow chewing is the first, and highly important, step in a complex system of digestion. Besides, if we eat slowly, we might feel full before finishing the whole meal, and can leave the rest for the next meal.

3. Exercise daily.
How silly of me to include something as obvious as exercise. I did a 30 day trial with waking up, and walking for 30 minutes first thing in the morning. My journal records that I was feeling amazing during the period of time that I was following this habit.

4. Publicize your intentions.
Start a blog, join a forum, and have other people keep you accountable to help. Tell other people your plan, it would help you get the motivation to go with it!

5. Create a food schedule.
Plan your day so that you’re eating at approximately the same time each day. This scheduling will incorporate itself into your circadian rhythm, and aid in digestion.

6. Do not over eat.
Know your limit and stop eating when you are full. I have often been a victim of wanting to finish a meal so that it doesn’t go to waste. This has left me with many a stomach ache. Next time, doggy bag it for later, and don’t hurt yourself!

7.Choose your snacks wisely.
Put down the Lays® and cheese puffs. Pick up the apple and baby carrots. Make the right decision, I know you can do it.

8.Lifestyle.
Remember, it’s not about special diets, or special exercise programs. The real secret is in turning your health into a lifestyle, and focusing on this healthy lifestyle with every choice you make.

Remedy for Dengue fever

Dengue Fever Remedy

I would like to share this interesting discovery from a classmate's son who has just recovered from dengue fever. Apparently, his son was in the critical stage at the ICU when his blood platelet count drops to 15 after 15 liters of blood transfusion.

His father was so worried that he seeks another friend's recommendation and his son was saved. He confessed to me that he gave his son raw juice of the papaya leaves. From a platelet count of 45 after 20 liters of blood transfusion, and after drinking the raw papaya leaf juice, his platelet count jumps instantly to 135. Even the doctors and nurses were surprised. After the second day he was discharged. So he asked me to pass this good news around.

Accordingly it is raw papaya leaves, 2pcs just cleaned and pound and squeeze with filter cloth. You will only get one tablespoon per leaf. So two tablespoon per serving once a day. Do not boil or cook or rinse with hot water, it will loose its strength. Only the leafy part and no stem or sap. It is very bitter and you have to swallow it like "Won Low Kat". But it works.

*Papaya Juice - Cure for Dengue*

You may have heard this elsewhere but if not I am glad to inform you that papaya juice is a natural cure for dengue fever. As dengue fever is rampant now, I think it's good to share this with all.

A friend of mine had dengue last year. It was a very serious situation for her as her platelet count had dropped to 28,000 after 3 days in hospital and water has started to fill up her lung. She had difficulty in breathing. She was only 32-year old. Doctor says there's no cure for dengue. We just have to wait for her body immune system to build up resistance against dengue and fight its own battle. She already had 2 blood transfusion and all of us were praying very hard as her platelet continued to drop since the first day she was admitted.

Fortunately her mother-in-law heard that papaya juice would help to reduce the fever and got some papaya leaves, pounded them and squeeze the juice out for her. The next day, her platelet count started to increase, her fever subside. We continued to feed her with papaya juice and she recovered after 3 days!!!

Amazing but it's true. It's believed one's body would be overheated when one is down with dengue and that also caused the patient to have fever papaya juice has cooling effect. Thus, it helps to reduce the level of heat in one's body, thus the fever will go away. I found that it's also good when one is having sore throat or suffering from heat.

Please spread the news about this as lately there are many dengue cases. It's great if such natural cure could help to ease the sufferings of dengue patients.

Furthermore it's so easily available. Blend them and squeeze the juice! It's simple and miraculously effective!

Absolute 'no-no' in front of kids

Our children are our biggest imitators. And very often they emulate the practices they see in their parents. So parents must be careful of what they do and say in front of their li’l ones.

Tara Sharma, a home maker recalls her mistake, “Once when I was experiencing a fit of anger I slapped the maid in our house over breaking our expensive cutlery set in front of my two-year-old. Little did I realize that I was setting the stage for my child's subsequent bad behaviour. What followed subsequently took me by surprise. My son started repeating my act. He was actually mimicking me and I was ashamed of the way I had behaved.”

Child psychologist Dr Manish Chopra points out, “Kids who are exposed to aggression in their homes are very likely to exhibit the same kind of violent behaviour at an early age.”

Children inculcate certain habits and behavioural traits from their parents and their surrounding environment. So, it's quintessential that you keep your child away from practices and influences that can affect their physical and mental growth in the future. We explore what are those ‘no-no’ moves:


1. Fighting and arguing
Sonia Bhasin, a Bangalore-based home maker says, “Since my husband is the sole earner in our family, money has always been in short supply. And this often leads to disagreements which turn ugly and result in violent fights with my husband. My teenager son, who has grown up seeing the two us fighting, has consequently become ill tempered over the years. He usually keeps it to himself, but when he gets agitated, he erupts like a volcano”

A recent report carried out by researchers at the University of Washington and the University of Indiana revealed that most children who witness domestic violence become bullies themselves.

Parenting Tip: “When parents fight, scream or insult each other, children who are witness become aggressive, anxious and withdrawn. How you two handle disagreements in your relationship will directly impact how your kids learn to equip theirs, once they grow up,” says Dr Chopra.


2. Getting cosy.
“My husband is very romantic and sometimes he gets very intimate with me in front of our 10-year old son. I have observed that our son notices our intimate acts and behaves in an unusual way. I have asked my husband to keep a restrain," shares Neha, a school teacher.

Experts suggest that a clear line be drawn between sexual and affectionate behaviour. While the former is harmful, the latter is beneficial. As a parent it’s your duty to strike a balance and behave responsibly in front of your kid.

Parenting Tip: Child psychologist, Dr Chopra states, “Certain gestures like hugging, holding hands, placing your head on your partner's shoulder are positive signs that the parents share a healthy relationship. But sexual display of love between a couple often acts like sexual abuse in the child’s tender mind. The damages done can be grave and the natural growth of the child can get tampered."


3. Cursing/swearing
Rajesh Pandey, a journalist says, “We often hear our next door neighbour abusing his wife. Me and my wife were worried how it was likely to impact their children. Our fear came true as one day we heard his son, who was in college, cursing his mother in a similar way”.

How many times have you dropped the F-bomb in front of your children? Swear words are not always easy to evade, especially if you are used to saying them in your daily vocabulary.

Parenting Tip: Dr Chopra warns against the use of swear words in front of kids. “If you use profanities in front of your children, they will think that it's acceptable to use such words.”


4. Watching violence and nudity on screen
Pratima Ishpunani, an interior designer opines, “We make it a point to drop our two kids at my parents’ place, when we go out every weekend for a movie. We feel that they are too young to handle violence and nudity that is shown in most of the movies today. However, we do take them out to amusement parks, museums and zoological park to make it up for lost time."

Modern age children are exposed to the TV/Internet at a very early age, so it is imperative to ensure that they do not watch violent and vulgar shows as they has a lasting impact on their mind.

Parenting Tip: “There have been many incidents reported in the media where children have hurt themselves copying daring stunts shown in ads, particularly those which exhibit motorbikes stunts. There is always a potential risk of your child becoming aggressive if they watch too much of violence on the TV, while sleazy and vulgar scenes can make them inquisitive and confused. So, it is important to hold back kids from such exposure till the child reaches an age where he/she can differentiate between what is wrong and what is right,” adds Dr Chopra.


5. Drinking/Smoking
“The other day my fourteen-year-old son returned late from his friend’s birthday party. I was shocked to see him in an inebriated state. When I questioned him he bluntly snubbed me by reminding me of my drinking habits,” says Pranjal Joshi, a businessman.

Parenting Tip: Relationship expert, Mahima Mathur points out, “If parents themselves engage in drinking or smoking in front of their children, they lose the moral right to stop their kids from indulging in the same, once they grow up. Besides, it’s a known fact that passive smoking can affect children’s respiratory system. So, if you want that your child does not imbibe these bad habits, then try to be an ideal role model by becoming a teetotaler or at least do not drink/smoke in front of them."


6. Lying
“To decline unwanted calls, I have often made up several excuses and have relayed them through my 11-year-old daughter. Lately I have observed that she cooks up some story to hide her misdoings,” said Trideep, a radio artiste.

Parenting Tip: “Parents often find themselves lying to their children to avoid confrontation, explanations and tears. Most parents lie to keep inquisitive and difficult questions at bay which they find tricky to handle or answer. Since children rely on adults to explain the world to them, it is not recommended that parents present a different picture to them from what actually is,” suggests relationship expert, Mahima Mathur.

STRESS - Signs and Factors of Stress!

STRESS is already a part of daily living. You may never know it but you are already affected by this issue. You shout at your kids or nag your partner about something. You seem to raise an issue out of a particular event even if it is not true. You also tend to be suspicious at some points. All these are due to stress.

Scientifically, stress is a state of high tension or pressure, resulting from an accident or injury or a psychological reaction of heightened emotional response. Certain occupations are particularly stressful, such as acting, advertising, controlling air traffic, politics, investing and gambling. As an effect of stressful emotions such as panic attacks, fear and anger, the blood pressure rises, the pulse beats faster, breathing is accelerated, digestion stops, and the adrenal glands become overactive.

MAJOR FACTS FOR STRESS:

1. It can be caused by many factors. Fear and anxiety are the greatest causes of psychological stress. In modern times people are constantly beset by the threat of calamities. They fear depression and inflation, unemployment, cancer and heart failure, missiles and bombs and famine. At home they may be confronted with marital incompatibility, quarrels, family illness, or financial troubles.

2. It can also cause something. Many illnesses are caused by mental stress, including ulcers, spastic constipation, diarrhea, high blood pressure and migraine headaches. Sometimes latent mental disorders are precipitated by stressful circumstances, as in the case of manic-depressive psychosis, schizophrenia, hysteria and neurasthenia.

3. It can worsen through time. When a person is subjected to repeated stresses, she is likely to develop what people call nervous breakdown, an unscientific but expressive term. The stress produced by the problems of everyday living has led to the widespread use of tranquilizers, a last resort when there seems to be no escape from a difficult situation.

4. It happens in daily living. Stress exists in almost every human activity and is not the same as nerve tension. Some stress is beneficial since it may stimulate action.

5. It can be lessened through healthy intimate relationships. Psychiatrists also found out that for the avoidance of excessive stress being married is better than being divorced or single.

6. There are major stressful events connected to it. Studies also showed that the death of a child is the most stressful of any life’s events. Other items include a jail sentence, major financial problems, divorce and the beginning of an extra-marital affair. Some of the environmental factors that may be related to stress are the status of health, the social class, and the size of the household.

7. There are also some stresses that cannot be controlled. Too much stress can show itself in various emotional, behavioral and physical signs, and the signs of stress differ extremely according to each individual.


Usual Physical, Emotional and Behavioral Signs of Stress:

The physical indications of stress include sleep interruptions, tense muscles, annoyance, gastrointestinal problem, and exhaustion. Its emotional and behavioral indications consist of apprehension, fear, alterations in eating practices, depleted energy, and mood swings. All of the symptoms given cannot tell whether a person has an elevated stress level because these indications may be due to other medical or mental problems.

It is also a fact that persons in stress are most likely to maintain harmful activities like drug and alcohol addiction, excessive cigarette smoking, and poor eating habits. These harmful activities can extremely add to the severity of the indications connected to stress.

Remember that all people may be prone to stress – no matter what age you are in and no matter what status of life you have. The extent may vary also depending on how you take up the challenge that goes with it. If you have a support system with you, it is easy to do away with the situation. But at the worse, it may only lead you to panic attacks.